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GOP chairman hit for Afghan war comments
NEW YORK, (UPI) -- Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele came under fire Friday for saying the war in Afghanistan was of President Barack Obama's "choosing."
Steele made the remark Thursday during a speech in Connecticut. He said the United States was on the wrong side of history in the war in Afghanistan, asking, "has (the president) not understood that you know that's the one thing you don't do, is engage in a land war in Afghanistan?"
Some fellow Republicans have been quick to slam Steele for the latest in a string of controversial remarks during his tenure as chairman, The New York Times reported.
William Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard, called for Steele's resignation.
"Your tenure has, of course, been marked by gaffes and embarrassments, but I for one have never paid much attention to them, and have never thought they would matter much to the success of the causes and principles we share," Kristol wrote Friday. "Needless to say, the war in Afghanistan was not 'a war of Obama's choosing.' It has been prosecuted by the United States under Presidents Bush and Obama.
"There are, of course, those who think we should pull out of Afghanistan, and they're certainly entitled to make their case," Kristol wrote. "But one of them shouldn't be the chairman of the Republican Party."
Amid the criticism, Steele issued a statement Friday saying there is "no question that America must win the war on terror."
"During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Barack Obama made clear his belief that we should not fight in Iraq, but instead concentrate on Afghanistan. Now, as President, he has indeed shifted his focus to this region. That means this is his strategy," Steele said in the statement posted on the RNC Web site.
He said history has made it clear winning a war in Afghanistan "is a difficult task" but he said the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, made it "a necessary one."
"The stakes are too high for us to accept anything but success in Afghanistan," Steele said.
NEW YORK, (UPI) -- Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele came under fire Friday for saying the war in Afghanistan was of President Barack Obama's "choosing."
Steele made the remark Thursday during a speech in Connecticut. He said the United States was on the wrong side of history in the war in Afghanistan, asking, "has (the president) not understood that you know that's the one thing you don't do, is engage in a land war in Afghanistan?"
Some fellow Republicans have been quick to slam Steele for the latest in a string of controversial remarks during his tenure as chairman, The New York Times reported.
William Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard, called for Steele's resignation.
"Your tenure has, of course, been marked by gaffes and embarrassments, but I for one have never paid much attention to them, and have never thought they would matter much to the success of the causes and principles we share," Kristol wrote Friday. "Needless to say, the war in Afghanistan was not 'a war of Obama's choosing.' It has been prosecuted by the United States under Presidents Bush and Obama.
"There are, of course, those who think we should pull out of Afghanistan, and they're certainly entitled to make their case," Kristol wrote. "But one of them shouldn't be the chairman of the Republican Party."
Amid the criticism, Steele issued a statement Friday saying there is "no question that America must win the war on terror."
"During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Barack Obama made clear his belief that we should not fight in Iraq, but instead concentrate on Afghanistan. Now, as President, he has indeed shifted his focus to this region. That means this is his strategy," Steele said in the statement posted on the RNC Web site.
He said history has made it clear winning a war in Afghanistan "is a difficult task" but he said the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, made it "a necessary one."
"The stakes are too high for us to accept anything but success in Afghanistan," Steele said.