This is a war without an enemy, without a purpose, and without a goal. It is a war to prop up a ruler who ever more frequently expresses his contempt for the United States, against a foe that our troops are constrained by impossible rules of engagement from fighting properly, and to whom Obama makes concessions that endanger our troops. He should be tried for every U.S. soldier killed by our Afghan “allies” since he became President.
“86% of Troops Wounded in Afghan War Wounded on Obama’s Watch,” by Ali Meyer, CNS News, June 2, 2014:
(CNSNews.com) — Eighty-six percent of the U.S. troops who have been wounded in the war in Afghanistan incurred their injuries after January 2009, the month President Barack Obama was first inaugurated, according to the Department of Defense.
The Afghan War began on Oct. 7, 2001, and in the more than 12 years since then, 19,793 U.S. service personnel have been wounded in and around Afghanistan in support of U.S. military activities in that country.
17,095 of those 19,793 wounded U.S. military personnel–or 86.4%–were injured between the start of February 2009 and May 2014. 2,698 of the 19,793–or 13.6 percent–were wounded between October 2001 and January 2009.
To date, 2,198 U.S. military personnel have lost their lives in the Afghanistan War, according to CNSNews.com’s database of U.S. casualties. Among those casualties, 1,629 U.S. military personnel, or 74.1%, have died since Obama took office on Jan. 20, 2009.
President Obama announced the first of his multiple increases in U.S. military personnel deployed to Afghanistan on Feb. 17, 2009.
“To meet urgent security needs, I approved a request from Secretary Gates to deploy a Marine Expeditionary Brigade later this spring and an Army Stryker Brigade and the enabling forces necessary to support them later this summer,” Obama said on Feb. 17, 2009. “This increase is necessary to stabilize a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, which has not received the strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires.”
According to the Congressional Research Service, there were 32,800 U.S. troops on the ground in Afghanistan in January 2009, when Obama entered office. In February 2009, the U.S. deployment increased to 35,000. By December 2009, the U.S. forces in Afghanistan had increased to 69,000. And, by September 2010, they had risen to 98,000….

11B40 says
Greetings:
Every time I see a photo of President Obama and his most overworked digit I can’t help but recall the pre-teen time when my father saw me demonstrating a similar prowess toward my sister at the dinner table. The succinctness of my father’s parenting skills came to the fore as he intoned, “If your having a problem with that finger, I can fix it for you.”
John C. Barile says
Most telling, these photos. Most becoming to our President.
/sarc
Champ says
That ‘man’ is such an embarrassment …
John C. Barile says
Afghanistan, then, is principally Obama’s War, incoherently waged to the detriment of our own supposed objectives. Ultimately, a failure that has left us all–everywhere– even more insecure and vulnerable than before 9/11.
We’ll face an even greater conflict at greater cost even sooner because of this.
AnneM says
I see not once, but twice on this website Mr. Obama give the famous “Bronx Salute”.
D.C. Watson says
A stale bread stick in a suit and tie.
RG says
Pray tell, Robert, where did you ever find such an insolent truth-telling picture? I can’t believe this hasn’t been all over the news! What’s more, I can’t believe this is the first time that I personally have actually seen this picture. I suppose the ones who are responsible for his being elected twice are probably thinking that this pose by Obama is for his sworn enemies (namely Republicans and Christians). Truth be told however, this just happens to be Bho’s true sentiment and disposition of impudence toward everything and everyone everywhere except, of course, for his most glorious, almighty self!
gravenimage says
86% of U.S. troops wounded in Afghanistan wounded during Obama Administration
………………………………..
This is a *shocking* figure, and one I was unaware of—given that eight years of the Afghan war were fought under President Bush—compared to just six under Obama.
However inept and confused Bush may have been when it came to Jihad and how to fight it—and his shortcomings have been amply documented here at JW—at least I believe that he *was* trying to fight it.
But with Obama? Increasingly—especially in light of the emerging facts of the appalling Bergdahl affair—I am not sure that opposing Jihad is even his aim…
RG says
If people will everlastingly stop judging President Bush’s (#2) actions with the advantage of 20/20 hindsight, they’d probably find that there most likely never was a more honest, God-fearing, people-loving American president–with the possible exceptions of Lincoln and Washington!
Kepha says
@RG: I was always of the mind that one of our responses to 9/11 should have been the rebuilding of our human intelligence capabilities (as a former Foreign Service Officer who knows a little bit about such things, both ours and others’, our HUMINT has long been a joke). This might have allowed us to get information on OBL’s movements, wait until he felt the need to get on a plane and go crow somewhere, and then intercept the place, force it to land (somewhere like Diego Garcia), apologize all over the place and hand out compensation to innocents inconvenienced in the thing, but bundle OBL off and send him to the USA nonetheless. This would’ve beaten trashing a country already halfway back to the Stone Age in a war in which our logistics train depends on a country that is by no means a friend in the endeavor (Pathologicalstan).
Yet I also believe that Bush II was a far better man and president than the middle-finger-flashing O.
gravenimage says
RG, I’d take George Bush back in a minute, considering the current occupant of the White House.
Edward Vaughn says
Read my post again. You’ve obviously ignored the point. It was Bush’s a.) incompetence and b.) desire to “out-do” Daddy and c.) drive for Iraqi oil that created the catastrophe Obama inherited. As for “taking Bush back in a second,” considering what he did for the U.S. with our overseas allies, how he lied to get us into war in the first place, how he destroyed the economy, left office with a staggering amount of debt, cut taxes on the rich, burdened you and I with paying for those wars—I can only reflect with sadness on your ability to ignore the obvious. Please do not respond. I have no desire to get into a slanging match with you.
Edward Vaughn says
When Bush said the he didn’t know where Bin Laden was and didn’t lay awake nights worrying about it, he said everything necessary to explain his actual policy in Afghanistan: “Who cares?” It was precisely that attitude which allowed the Taliban to regroup and become resurgent—hence the deaths under Obama. That statistic is a craven betrayal of the truth and another attempt to whitewash Bush’s incompetence.
Marylou says
Yes, after just looking at these two photos side by side, if I didn’t know better, of course, I’d think he favored that finger.
Mack says
Is the picture of Obama photo-shopped?
If it is real what is the context?
Was Obama having a particularly hard day?
I think there is another picture where he is scratching his temple and in a passive-aggressive manner telling people FU.
If this picture is real how often does he flip the bird?
For a president to flip the bird like this (if true), shows how pathological, dangerous and stupid he is.
Edward Vaughn says
A bit of care is necessary here, folks. The true reason for the uptick in soldiers’ deaths during Obama’s Presidency is the incompetence of the Bush Administration. Those guys put Afghanistan on hold to grab the Iraqi oil, thus allowing the Taliban to retrench, regroup and grow. Put the blame where it actually belongs, please.
gravenimage says
Edward, Obama is now *in his second term*. Blaming this on his predecessor *at this point* seems iffy at best…
Davegreybeard says
We were never out “grab the Iraqi oil.”
There was no evidence of this at the time, nor is there any now. This is a Leftist propaganda “talking point” with no basis in fact whatsoever.
I am saddened that you regurgitate this nonsense, as it indicates that there is little hope for any cogent thought issuing from you.