• Mike Huckabee has expressed his full support for the war in Afghanistan and is also of the
impression that the "war should not be judged while the United States is in the midst of it."
 
• Huckabee agrees that the Al Qaeda is a threatening cancer diagnosed in Afghanistan but
drives home the theory that one does not deal with cancer by "pretending it doesn't exist."
 
• He is all praise for President Obama's wise decisions regarding the war on terror in
Afghanistan and feels everyone should extend their 'non-partisan' support to the President as he
aims to finish America's international involvement in the eight-year Afghanistan war.
 
• However, he has expressed his displeasure in withdrawing the American troops from America
in July 2011. Huckabee has brushed aside this timetable as 'a huge mistake' and is not too
optimistic that President Obama will be able to stick to his time line, without running the risk of
ultimately abandoning it.
 
• Huckabee has reasons for his opposition of a public timetable and justifies it with the
simple theory that the Taliban, Al Qaeda and the Afghan locals will perceive this mention of a
specific date as evidence that the American troops will, most certainly, leave the country within
the first few days of July 2011. This step alone, Huckabee feels, is a wrong message that will
demoralize the Afghan and Pakistani armed forces and make the countries more unstable.
 
• According to Huckabee, the Afghanistan government has been highly disappointing and clearly
stated that the US cannot withdraw.
 
• Huckabee continues to insist his viewpoint that neighboring countries should extend their
support, both militarily and financially.

• "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."

• Mitt Romney agrees that the United States has positioned itself in war-torn Afghanistan to
"confront a common enemy that threatens the United States, our friends and allies"
 
• Though he is full of praise for President Obama's right decision to surge 30,000 troops
into Afghanistan, Romney does not approve of the latter's non-action oriented rhetoric strategies
sketched out for the country and simply dismisses it with a comment: "This is not the time for
Hamlet in the White House."
 
• Mitt Romney made an appearance on CBS' Early Show, where he openly criticized President
Obama's decision-making process on Afghanistan.
 
• He has clearly stated that nothing worthwhile is being done to stabilize the situation in
Afghanistan and protect the lives of US troops dying in uniform everyday. 
 
• Followed by his silent interlude, Romney has been quick to comment that President Obama has
got his calculations wrong in sending conflicting and equally misleading signals about a timetable
for withdrawing troops.
 
• Romney strongly opines, "You don't want in any way to have [Pakistan or Afghanistan]
thinking that somehow we are only in there for 18 months and then we're getting out no matter what.
That's not the message you want to have heard"
 
• Romney believes that, in the hands of Obama, the US has been molded to don the role of a
neutral arbiter between nations instead of a champion of freedom.
 
• He also sends across a warning signal that a pullback of forces would destabilize
Afghanistan.

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