Obama Defends Afghanistan Timetable Plan

(CBS)  As President Obama approaches his first anniversary in the White House, some of the public's enthusiasm for his ambitious agenda at home and abroad is on the wane. While he helped avert a worldwide financial collapse, and may well achieve his goal of health care reform during his first year in office, the U.S. economy is still very weak with double digit unemployment, and his approval ratings are at the lowest point of his presidency.

This past week, before he left for Europe to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft sat down with the president in the Map Room at the White House for a wide ranging discussion, much of it focused on his decision to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan.

Transcript: President Obama, Part 1
Transcript: President Obama, Part 2
Obama Versus the "Fat Cats"
Obama: Gatecrashers Lapse "Won't Happen Again"
Obama: Senate Will Pass Health Bill by Christmas
Web Extra: Afghanistan and Pakistan
Web Extra: What Pakistan Must Do
Web Extra: Why This War?
Web Extra: His Biggest Frustration
Web Extra: Unfinished Business
Web Extra: The Party Crashers

Steve Kroft: Was that the most difficult decision of your presidency so far?

President Barack Obama: Absolutely.

Kroft: Why?

Obama: Because when you go to Walter Reed and you travel to Dover and you visit Arlington and you see the sacrifices that young men and women and their families are making there is nothing more profound. And it is a solemn obligation on the part of me as commander in chief to get those decisions right.

Kroft: In your West Point speech, you seemed very analytical, detached, not emotional. The tone seemed to be, "I've studied this situation very hard. It's a real mess. The options aren't very good. But we need to go ahead and do this." There were no exhortations or promises of victory. Why? Why that tone?

Obama: You know, that was actually probably the most emotional speech that I've made, in terms of how I felt about it. Because I was looking out over a group of cadets, some of whom were gonna be deployed in Afghanistan. And potentially some might not come back. There is not a speech that I've made that hit me in the gut as much as that speech.

And one of the mistakes that was made over the last eight years is for us to have a triumphant sense about war.

There was a tendency to say, "We can go in. We can kick some tail. This is some glorious exercise." When in fact, this is a tough business.

Kroft: Most Americans right now don't believe this war is worth fighting. And most of the people in your party don't believe this is a war worth fighting.

Obama: Right.

Kroft: Why did you go ahead?

Obama: Because I think it's the right thing to do. And that's my job. If I was worried about what polled well, there are a whole bunch of things we wouldn't have done this year.

Kroft: Do you feel like you've staked your presidency on it?

Obama: There are a whole bunch of things that I've staked my presidency on, right. That are tough, and entail some risks. There's no guarantees. But that I'm confident we have addressed in the best possible way.

Kroft: The West Point speech was greeted, it was greeted with a great deal of confusion.

Obama: I disagree with that statement.

Kroft: You do?

Obama: I absolutely do. Forty million people watched it. And I think a whole bunch of people understood what we intend to do.

Kroft: But it raised a lot of questions.

Obama: Now, it-

Kroft: Some people thought it was contradictory. That's a fair criticism.

Obama: I don't think it's a fair criticism. I think that what you may be referring to is the fact that on the one hand I said, "We're gonna be sending in additional troops now." On the other hand, "By July 2011, we're gonna move into a transition phase where we're drawing our troops down."

Kroft: Right.

Obama: There shouldn't be anything confusing about that. That's-

Kroft: Well-

Obama: First of all, that's something that we executed over the last two years in Iraq. So, I think the American people are familiar with the idea of a surge. In terms of the rationale for doing it, we don't have an Afghan military right now, security force, that can stabilize the country. If we are effective over the next two years, that then frees us up to transition into a place where we can start drawing down.

Now, the other point of confusion I think that at least the press has identified is this notion of, "Well, what happens on July 2011?"

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[sean71z]

Albert Einstein proposed dropping atom bombs on every concentration camp in Poland and Germany to end the holocaust of Jews. He argued for the overwhelming destructive force of nuclear energy on Nazis. NATO's potential attack on Iran is misconceived. Unleashing so much power on a country will not end war. Instead, a careful assessment of tactics and security will render the enemy to an impotent state. Obama must consider this a district by district strategy in Afghanistan. The Rebels show no interest in surrender.

[deltablue]

You people do realize half, if not more, of Obama's administration is from Wall Street. You also realize his campaign, as is every American election for high office, is funded by Wall Street. You are also aware Wall Street funds insurgencies around the world. Insurgencies that tend to get out of hand to the point the American military is sent in to attempt to clean things up so Wall street and other American businesses can move in, set up shop and peddle their products to the unwashed masses. You people also realize this has been going on for decades, in both Republican and Democratic administrations. From reading most of these comments, I not sure you do.

[Sky017]

Obama should have hired someone with fresh new ideas.
Obama should have HIRED PETER SCHIFF who was one of a few voices predicting what has happened.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I0QN-FYkpw

[bubbadubba]

Real American patriots trash and don't support their freely and democratically elected President they support dictatorship!
You are great Americans my friends for trying to make the President fail and spewing lies and hate about him!
Now go listen to Limbaugh, Hannity, and Beck on Treason Radio.

[zootsuithap]

oh, how you all trashed bush and tried to make him a failur during wartime? You are pathetic.

[starving1968-1]

by infantryman1968 December 14, 2009 9:47 AM EST
hungry 1968

So basically what you are saying if it were not for the Republicans, Iraq, Afghanistan, Our enemies gatting nukes, Recession, Health Care, Cap and Tax and all of the other things that Obama knew about before he ran fof office he would have been a Great President?

You cant be serious.







Let's see.....

Iraq was started by republicans for no apparent reason.

Afghanistan was started by republicans, but our troops were abandoned in the field by their CIC who put more effort into his fabricated war, than he did in the ACTUAL "war on terror".

Iran and North Korea BOTH got their nukes while Bush was in office. (Apparently the Bush policy of "ignore them and maybe they'll go away" didn't work.)

The desperately needed health care reform was IGNORED by Bush.

Anti-environmental practices were ENCOURAGED by Bush and his cabal.

The recession was caused by the conservatives ignoring all of their oversight responsibilities, and allowing big banks to set their own rules and monitor themselves.




And now Obama hasn't cleaned up all of those Bush-made disasters in less than ONE YEAR, so you consider him a failure.

That's rich.

[velma179]

by BryanW217i December 14, 2009 1:40 AM EST
Velma, just suck it up and admit, like millions of others, that you made a mistake by voting for this guy. It's obvious that he is failing every day to do what he promised, and it's obvious he will never be the leader Americans expected him to be. The man is all smooth words, and nothing else. Just admit you made a mistake and try harder next time not be such a voting dumba**s.

************

I rest my case.


PS -- How incredibly Un-American your attitude is.... we all have the RIGHT to our own counsel in exercising our RESPONSIBILITY to vote for the candidate of our CHOICE.

Just because your team LOST, doesn't make those that handed you that defeat wrong.
I have NO regrets -- oh well, I DO actually. Sincerely, I regret the THREE votes I gave Ronald Reagan... by the end of his presidency he was indeed a different man than the one I first embraced when I came of age in CA!

[cbs4me3]

Steve, you ought to have told him that he is in office almost a year and it is high time he take "personal" responsibility. He is setting a horrible trend shirking his responsbility. Two words: Accountability and Transparency.

[velma179]

by cbs4me3 December 14, 2009 10:12 AM EST
Steve, you ought to have told him that he is in office almost a year and it is high time he take "personal" responsibility. He is setting a horrible trend shirking his responsbility. Two words: Accountability and Transparency.

*************

Excuse me?

I have heard (with my own ears) President Obama take personal responsibility on many issues.
He is by no means shirking his responsibility.


Are you aware of the FACT that the country (and the whole world) do not STOP on any given January 20th Inauguration Day... and then START up again with all brand new problems and issues to face.

ALL Presidents inherit the situations left them from the last administration. This is nothing new.

What was different in 2009 was the extent and scope of MULTIPLE, very serious issues -- War and the Economy just the two most immediately serious.

It is incorrect to blame the decisions this current president makes on a person who is no longer the Head of State, that is true.
But to think this president should bear the ACCOUNTABILITY for the things that preceded him in office is not only unrealistic -- it is flat out WRONG!

Period.

[dontemailmeagain]

...and he blames the "eight years" prior when the LAST TWO the Dem's controlled congress.

[velma179]

by BryanW217i December 14, 2009 1:48 AM EST
Letsmakeachange , you are 100% correct. It's already well documented that had we changed just one thing about Obama--his skin color from black to white---McCain would have won.

Folks, this is a no-brainer.

Deny it, and you know you are only lying to yourself.

***************

So when I say I voted for Obama because of who he is; his character and vision for ALL Americans, with no regards for what he LOOKS like or his ancestry -- YOU want to call me a liar?
Why? Because you project what you think onto others.

And you are wrong.

Well documented? By who? Racists-R-Us....

You would know what that group thinks... that's for sure BryanW217i (your own words as written on these comment boards document THAT!)

[starving1968-1]

by perceptions5 December 14, 2009 7:42 AM EST





Do you realize that you posted this response, as a reply to spam advertising?

ROFL!!

Too Funny!!

[tdentino]

Just give him he own show so I know when not to watch.

[starving1968-1]

by BryanW217i December 14, 2009 1:31 AM EST
I think the reason Jimmy Carter smiles so much these days is finally, FINALLY, after 29 years, a President even worse than him is in the White House. Now, THAT took quite some doing, eh?






There are several that are far ahead of Carter on the "worst presidents list".

Topping the list is Bush Jr (by far number one), Reagan the traitor, Hoover, Nixon, Ford, and Bush Sr.

Carter's biggest problem, is also Obama's biggest problem: he inherited financial and economic disasters from the conservatives that presided over record inflation and recession rates. (Those are apparently hallmarks of conservative presidents.)

[infantryman1968]

hungry 1968

So basically what you are saying if it were not for the Republicans, Iraq, Afghanistan, Our enemies gatting nukes, Recession, Health Care, Cap and Tax and all of the other things that Obama knew about before he ran fof office he would have been a Great President?

You cant be serious.