Cornyn: Afghan Delay Emboldens Our Enemies

GOP Senator Says Obama Admin. Shows "Lack of Resolve When It Comes to Our National Security"

(CBS)  Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn told CBS News that President Obama should move forward on U.S. military strategy in Afghanistan without waiting to see if Hamid Karzai wins another term as that country's president.

The senator even went as far to say that Mr. Obama's deliberations might have the effect of "emboldening our enemies."

Cornyn spoke with John Dickerson, host of CBSNews.com's "Washington Unplugged," on "Face the Nation" Sunday.

The senator's comments contrasted sharply with those of Sen. John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Kerry earlier told Dickerson that the country's election should affect Mr. Obama's decision whether to approve a request from Gen. Stanley McChrystal for more troops there.

"I don't think our national security should depend solely on that," Cornyn told Dickerson. "But clearly that's an important part of it. I hope President Karzai understands that our national security interests don't depend entirely on his decision there whether to allow a recount. Obviously the legitimacy of that government is an important component of it. My point is it shouldn't be the lynch pin for us deciding whether to protect our national security interests in that region."

CBSNews.com Special Report: Afghanistan

Cornyn mentioned the strategy sessions Mr. Obama has recently held with his Afghan policy advisers, noting "deliberation is a good thing when it comes to fighting wars," but discouraged the administration from deliberating for much longer.

"At some point deliberation begins to look more like indecisiveness which then becomes a way of emboldening our enemies … and causing our allies to question our resolve," Cornyn told Dickerson. "We shouldn't let one component of this determine our national security here, which depends on providing an Afghanistan which denies a safe haven to terrorists, as well as stabilizing Pakistan. Those are our two national security interests at stake in Afghanistan."

Cornyn, who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, talked more about concerns he had about the administration's handling of national security threats abroad.

"You have to look at Afghanistan also in a global context where we've canceled basically our missile defense system, undercutting the Czech Republic in Poland," Cornyn told Dickerson. "We've I think not dealt with Iran with the kind of resolve that would show that we understand the nature of that threat. I think all of these are data points that begin to create a narrative or begin to create a picture that shows a lack of resolve when it comes to our national security."

Dickerson noted that Cornyn sits on the Senate Finance Committee, which last week voted on its bill to reform the nation's health care system. All of the committee's 13 Democrats and Maine Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe voted for the bill. Cornyn and the committee's eight other Republicans voted against the bill.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care Reform

"Do you think Republicans will support the final bill and will there be more than just Olympia Snowe?" Dickerson asked.

"John, we're still waiting for the president's plan," Cornyn said. "So far we've been largely shut out of the process. Almost every amendment we've offered to try to improve the proposals has been voted down along party lines, and what we see now is the Democrats who hold the filibuster-proof majority - 60 votes - they're finding differences between themselves, but I think clearly we could find a way to work on this on a bipartisan basis. So far the president has let Democratic leaders in Congress basically run the show to the exclusion of any constructive Republican suggestions"

Dickerson highlighted a recent finding in a CBS News poll that 61 percent of Americans want some kind of health reform package to pass; 29 percent don't want a bill to pass.

"Are you worried about being in the category where you only have 29 percent on this question of health care?" Dickerson asked.

"I think they want something good to pass," Cornyn said. "If you ask more detailed questions, some of the components of the president's proposal - or I should say the leadership's proposal - in the Senate and the House are very unpopular."

[themooniac]

Another Texas redneck who thinks he can be President. I should know I've lived in Texas for thirty years. Never voted for draft dodger, National Guardsman (when I want to be available) Bush either, for anything...

[ubrew12]

Cornyn :Afghan Delay Emboldens Our Enemies... "Lack of Resolve When It Comes to Our National Security"

Since when was kicking the Afghans off their own property in our national security?

[hypnotoad72]

Why can't Cornyn enlist, if it's that big a danger?

[sjc_1]

Cornyn is a corn ball, Bush let's it sit there getting worse for more than 7 years while he lies and obsesses about Iraq and suddenly trying to put a good plan together over 7 weeks is delay. Wrong wing nuts are SO hypocritical and non self introspective that it defies credibility.

[jcole19471]

I guess they call it politics. Does the fact Republicans had control of the White House for six of the last eight years cause any concern about the senator's credibility? Journalists totally lack a spine. The most appropriate question for Mr. Cornyn would be "why weren't you screaming about this for all the years we switched our focus to Iraq looking for those weapons of mass destruction. "Emboldening the enemy"! Does he not think we all remember how that phrase was used over and over and over against any person who dared to criticize W on any of his so called military strategies.

Taxcuts, wars and just say "no" to anything the other party proposes. That is the
Republican party stands for. Social Security, Medicare, civil rights legislation. Did any of that occur on the Republicans watch? Republicans try to convince us that government doesn't work. How about police and fire? That is government run. How about the military? Isn't that government. We just take for granted that the traffic signals work. I believe government handles that function as well. Congress? Now there is government that doesn't work I don't care who is in power.

The polarizing nature of politics today is directly related to why the public is so turned off by this whole process. If politics were a business it would fail. Unfortunately, the Republicans are much better at playing this game than Democrats.

We as a society are to blame as well. For example, I'll bet TV ratings went through the roof during the whole balloon boy hoax. Please inform yourselves people. Read multiple news sources, yes, even Fox News. When a politician from either party tries to explain what the other party is doing wrong, turn it off. Rarely does a politician from one party have any thing good to say about the other party.

[vpcharan]

GOP lacks new ideas and therefore they all keep singing the same old song, which did not work for last 8 years. Irony is the network interviewer never bothers to remind their guests that the solutions they propose are out of date.

[timetocomeclean]

Load of crap Mr. Cronyn. Why didn't CBS News challenge Mr. Cornyn record of Republican appeasement EIGHT LONG YEARS?

Why didn't you open your big mouth to your little brain when Bush-Cheney-Rice-Rumsfeld failed to resource the fight in Afghanistan when they should have.

Why didn't you talk 'a global context,' when everyone in Washington knew that Bush-Cheney-Rice-Rumsfeld were lying on the pretext to invade Iraq?

Why didn't you talk about 'a global context,' when the Bush-Cheney-Rice-Rumsfeld administration retired the F-117A Nighthawk Stealth Fighters in 2008 without replacement in Afghanistan and Iraq?

Why didn't you talk about 'a global context,' when the Bush-Cheney-Rice-Rumsfeld administration retired the S-3B Viking fleet without replacement along with about half the P-3C Orion fleet? Wasn't the
S-3B the type of aircraft George Bush landed on the aircraft carrier with to unfurl his 'MISSION ACCOMPLISHED,' banner? Wasn't the last operational deployment of the S-3B fleet to Afghanistan where their sophisticated sensors were desperately needed?

Why didn't you talk about 'a global context,' when 9 US Airborne soldiers (kids) assigned to 2-503d Infantry Regiment (Airborne) of the 173rd Airborne Brigade were sacrificed on July 13th, 2008 near Wanat,Afghanistan without adequate aircover and poor leadership?

Why didn't you talk about 'a global context,' when 8 soldiers of the
3-61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th BCT, 4th ID, Ft. Carson, Colorado on
October 7th, 2009 near Kamdesh, Afghanistan; 11 days ago.

Why did were these kids AGAIN sacrified because of inadequate aircover and poor leadership?

Mr. Crony get your butt to Afghanistan and pick up a gun and do something useful to help these kids fight with adequate resources. Otherwise just shut up because for EIGHT YEARS, EIGHT LOOOOOOOOONG YEARS, you were a brown nosing butt wipe for Bush-Cheney-Rice-Rumsfeld.

SHUI UP.

[BeckieBest]

Neocon stupidity is what emboldens the enemy.

[Mortarman29]

Silly

[jxknowles]

Just pull the string on his back and the GOP puppet spews forth the same lame, tired, old lines over and over. These folks are seriously bankrupt of any new ideas.

The GOP playbook needs something other than: Fight wars; If you get sick, die quickly; Give money to the wealthy and they will trickle it down on the rest of us; Cut taxes and run up deficits.

[mnbrant]

He has got a point. If he charged in to rescue the hostages all alone and got them out all by himself, It might be the turning out of the war. All we need are some hostages... I will volunteer!

[BeckieBest]

Coryn was one of the right wing nuts who wanted us to rush into Iraq with no real plan.

How'd that turn out?

Find those WMD's yet?

Our troops deserve leadership that takes their sacrifice seriously enough to weigh all options before puting them in harms way.

Our troops deserve a mission that well thought out and worthy of their committment.

[gsosbee]

http://www.opednews.com/articles/US-Army-Lies-To-Our-Young-by-GERAL-SOSBEE-080929-134.html

http://www.opednews.com/articles/USA-Military-Universal-Su-by-GERAL-SOSBEE-080915-75.html

http://www.sosbeevfbi.com/proclamation.html

http://www.sosbeevfbi.com/index.html

http://roma.indymedia.org/printable/taxonomy/term/1549

QUESTIONS! GERAL SOSBEE [phone]

[steeepe]

Cornyn's a fool. Did he complain about Bush's policies that "emboldened our enemies"? Of course not, he's a Republican. Ignore the idiocy on the right and move ahead with good policies.

[nor-one]

Of course cornyn and the repukes want karzai to stay in power, they owe him. They pulled him out of Unocal and made him interm president, then showed him how to steal elections and the money just rolled in. Unocal and there partner company in the original pipline deal Enron then did what all good repukes do. One went bust and the other found a place to hide.(Chevron) The american public will never be told the truth,that what started out as retribution for 9/11 was quickly turned into a quest for oil and a pipeline to bring it to the coast! Big oil put shrub in and cheney to handle him and when the opportunity arose they put karzai in to complete the deal.

[us_1776]

The whole Iraq war was "manufactured" even before 9/11 as a way for the Bush/Cheney crime syndicate to plug their umbilical cord into the public treasury. And they drank mightily. The Bush/Cheney pet corporations, Halliburton and others, were used as the conduit. Notice that ALL of the war contracts went to these corporations. And you will find most of the massive amounts of money that was illegally stolen from the American people over in Swiss bank accounts. It was the perfect swindle.

[boatdocster]

Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn should not confuse lack of resolve with lack of a brain. Under Bush, military advice that would have greatly shortened the wars was ignored. Now Obama must ask hard questions and figure out the right answer to botched start.

"All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved." Sun Tzu

Must be a GOP thing...

[stuart-johns2]

Typican republican extremist mental midget militia minded misfit grandstanding for the GOP (and himself probably) using the same old same old pathetic tactics of fear, distraction and division.

I too, have come to absolutely despise the republican party. They have become a domestic, intellectual terrorist organization instead of a political party and should be outlawed and disbanded altogether.

The republicans become more and more repulsive each day. The vast majority of Americans feel this way. Republicans just suck.

[PVperson2]

Cornyn is just another war mongering neo-con that NEVER served a single day in the military, amazing how many they have and how loudly they call for others to fight.

[jsilver2th]

What emboldens them more is undoubtedly seeing that Cornyn is actually in the U.S. Senate and not running a gas station someplace in the Texas outback...

[txlakeside]

Cornball Cornyn is just posturing for his run at the Presidency with typical "Rove" rhetoric. The GOP has no solutions just "buzz" words, fear and the sky is falling mentalty that brought you the SHRUB 2. Evil doers, weapons of mass destruction and the Obama is soft on security! Sound familiar? Right out of the ROVE, book on half lies and political misdirection! Many Texans are tired of this BS as we have lived this GOP strangle hold on the truth for way too long! Vote the lieing GOP greedy b@st@rds out! Onlt the dumb as dirt put them in power!

[wyodutch]

Come on now... give John Cornyn a little credit here.
.
While other guys were running off to VietNam... John was fighting the good fight at Trinity University.

[wheresmycountry]

Being there in the first place empissedoffens our enemies.

[geneonlbk]

I suggest that Cornyn get over there right away and smote them there foreigners. Yep, might sure makes right-wingers just like Viet Nam. If he really wants to win then he needs to get the Chinese and the Rushkys to send a whole bunch of armed "bullet-cushions" to help. When no one else is on your side you need to look around and figure out what everyone else seems to agree about.

[P0STING_AWAY]

Better yet - I think John Cornyn's CHILDREN / NIECES / NEPHEWS should
get their tails over there .... nothing frightens Taliban-types more
than NEOCONS and their offspring .....

[Mortarman29]

Silly stuff here! No substance...but entertaining.