Some Conservatives Are Afraid To Criticize The War In Afghanistan
Since the death of Osama Bin Laden criticism of the war in Afghanistan has been building, but some Republicans are uneasy questioning the tactics and strategy of the U.S because the will appear unpatriotic.
WASHINGTON — While criticism of the war in Afghanistan has slowly been building since Osama bin Laden’s death in Pakistan, some Republicans are still uneasy questioning the U.S. strategy out of fear that they will appear unpatriotic.
At a town hall meeting in his district on Sunday afternoon, Rep. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the House Foreign Relations Committee, discussed how his latest trip to Afghanistan reaffirmed his belief that the United States needs to withdraw its troops from there. Accompanying Murphy on the week-long congressional delegation trip were Democrat Cedric Richmond (La.) and Republicans Sean Duffy (Wis.), Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), Jon Runyan (N.J.) and Bill Shuster (Pa.).
Jessie Sawyer at Avon Patch reports that Murphy also revealed a comment made to him by one of the Republican lawmakers on the trip, who admitted that there is pressure to publicly avoid any criticism of the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan so as not to appear unpatriotic. The lawmaker wasn’t necessarily against the war in Afghanistan but admitted that being in favor of withdrawal would be a tough position to occupy.
According to Murphy, this Republican lawmaker said that “even if he opposed the war, it wasn’t right for him to openly talk about that, [and] if you criticize the war, that you’re putting troops in jeopardy.”
The article said that the Republican lawmaker was a member of the House Foreign Relations Committee, although none of the Republicans who went on the trip actually sit on that committee. Runyan and Shuster are both members of the House Armed Services Committee.
Spokespersons for Kinzinger and Runyan told The Huffington Post that their boss was not the member referenced by Murphy. Duffy’s spokesperson also said that it did not sound like something from his boss. That leaves Shuster, whose office did not return a request for comment.
In a recent interview with The Huffington Post, Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist — someone who has called on conservatives to begin exploring alternatives in the war in Afghanistan — also said that many conservatives are still afraid to openly question the U.S. strategy, after watching Republicans go after Democrats like Max Cleland in 2002 and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) in 2004.
“What a Republican candidate needs to be sure he doesn’t do is sound like he’s some liberal attacking the troops and against the military,” said Norquist when discussing the 2012 presidential field. “Liberals haven’t done that since Vietnam, but people have residual memories that go a long way back, and the Bush people mau-maued Kerry and other critics of Iraq and Afghanistan who wondered whether we should have troops occupying both countries.”
“They said, ‘Don’t you support the troops?’ Which is really sort of an odd comment to make, as if somehow we didn’t have the troops in Afghanistan…we were going to take away their clothes and food and leave them in the desert. … It was my team making the accusation, and I couldn’t even follow the reasoning,” he added.
Murphy is running for Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (I-Conn.) open seat and has made his opposition to the war in Afghanistan a centerpiece of his campaign. Yet he voted against a recent measure calling for the immediate withdrawal of troops. Murphy’s Chief of Staff Francis Creighton said that calling for withdrawal in 30 days is unrealistic.
“Here are the facts — Chris isn’t just talking about ending the war in Afghanistan, he’s doing something about it,” Creighton said. “He voted against the war funding bill last year, and recently joined 80 of his colleagues in a letter to President Obama demanding that troops begin coming home in large numbers this summer.”
“But calling for troops to be withdrawn in 30 days is just political gamesmanship — it can’t be done safely that fast,” she added. “And this isn’t a political issue for Chris — he cares about bringing our troops home because it’s the right thing to do for them and for our national security, not because it gets him political points. He ran for Congress as an opponent of the Iraq War, and now he’s turned his attention to ending the War in Afghanistan.”
THE BLOG
HOT 97
LINKS
MUSIC
Bobby Konders Presents: Massive B Legacy, Vol. 1
Release Date: November 19th, 2018 Bobby Konders Presents: Massive B Legacy – Volume 1 is now available and includes ten features on ten tracks. Burro Banton, Vybez Kartel, Bounty Killa, Sizzla, T.O.K., Elephantman, Richie Spice, Chezidek, Chronicle, and King Kong. You can listen on Apple Music, Spotify, and Tidal.
#MusicStillMatters New Music: A Boogie – Nice For What
A boogie gave fans a snippet of this one via his instagram. Finally after all the request to drop the full version from fans – here it is. Check A Boogie’s version of “Nice For What.” Listen below.
#MusicStillMatters New Music: Dave East – Imagine
Dave East is set to release the 2nd installment of his “Karma” series, next week on July 27. Check out this new one off the tape called “Imagine.” Listen below.
#MusicStillMatters New Music: 070 Shake – Accusations
The G.O.O.D. Music rookie 070 Shake releases a new one called “Accusations.” Listen below.
(Video) Tony James – Sweat Slow
Toronto’s very own Tony James has released his major label debut single and visual for “Sweat Slow.” Tony says this one “Is about the one that got away, so we wanted to show the beautiful, happy women representing the ex-girlfriends of the men who took them for granted.” Look out for more from Tony this…
#MusicStillMatters New Music: Childish Gambino – Summertime Magic / Feels Like Summer
Childish Gambino aka Donald Glover follows up his video/song “This Is America” with not only one, but two records for the summer. The “Atlanta” creator tweeted “summer pack,” with a link to his songs, “Summertime Magic” and “Feels Like Summer.”
#MusicStillMatters Stream: Meek Mill – Legends Of The Summer
Meek Mill decided to treat his fans to new music when he dropped a new EP called “Legends of the Summer.” the 4-track tape features Swizz Beatz, Jeremih and PNB Rock. Stream below.
#MusicStillMatters Stream: Future – Beast Mode 2
Future links up with Zaytoven for the follow up to 2015’s “Beast Mode” titled “Beast Mode 2” which includes 9 tracks with a feature from Young Scooter. Listen below.
#MusicStillMatters New Music: T-Pain – Boo’d Up (Remix)
First it was Nicki Minaj and Quavo who put their touch on the track to mixed reviews. Then Fabolous laid his verse on the hit single. Now, T-Pain decided to give his take on the track. Listen below.
TECH TALK
We Know What YG’s Next Purchase Will Be: This ALL RED Special Edition iPhone!
An all red iPhone is on the way – I’m sure much to the delight of the Bloods. LOL! A special edition red version of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus have been introduced, in celebration of the 10-year anniversary of Apple’s partnership with HIV/AIDS organization, (Red).
(Video) Apple Unveils New Spaceship Campus Called “Apple Park”
One of Steve Jobs projects he left behind before his untimely death from pancreatic cancer, was the Apple spaceship campus. Take a look.
(Video) Lil Wayne Featured In EA’s ‘Need For Speed: No Limits’ Game
While we still have no Carter 5 in sight, we can at least get SOMETHING from Lil Wayne in the form of EA’s new mobile game, Need For Speed: No Limits. Players can drive as Weezy in the game, and both his voice and likeness are there for fans to enjoy. Tune is also working…
Sprint Purchases 33% Stake In Jay-Z’s Tidal
Power moves on power moves on top of power moves. Hov just struck a big deal for Tidal and the artists who have stake in the company as well, through Sprint.
(Video) Travis Scott Previews New Heat On Snapchat
Looks like Travis Scott is cooking something up…Astroworld this year?
Azealia Banks Has Been Banned From Facebook
AzealiaBanksVEVO Well, that took longer than expected.
(Video + Photo) Ariana Grande Got Her Own Character In “Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius” Game
Soon you’ll be able to play as Ariana in Final Fantasy and she broke the news to her fans yesterday.
SoundCloud Makes A Major Update That MANY People Will Be Happy About!
When SoundCloud first came out, it quickly became a hub for DJs, uploading their mixes and gaining a decent following because of it. However, as labels became more hip to the new site, they began issuing copyright infringements left to right, and DJs began leaving the streaming website in droves – especially because their accounts…
MARISA EXPLAINS IT ALL
Marisa Mendez x Jamal x Tunisia – Marisa Explains It All [Episode 16: “Holiday Hangover”]
We’ve made it to episode 16 of my podcast, Marisa Explains It All, and I finally decided to share it with you guys here. LOL! On this episode, we pre-gamed before the Ebro In The Morning holiday party…and uh, yeah. Drunk talk and feelings were at an all time high. Our music picks are as…
Behind The Lyrics: Lil Wayne Admits To Botched Suicide Attempt As A Child On “London Roads”
Lil Wayne has long recounted a story of “accidentally” shooting himself when he was 12, playing with a 9 mm handgun. Thankfully, an off-duty cop was around to help young Tune, and he survived to become the rap star he is today. Apparently, that wasn’t the whole story, though! On “London Roads”, a song from…
(Video) Machine Gun Kelly Finally Opens Up About Amber Rose
Machine Gun Kelly is one of my favorite artists and has been a good friend of mine for years now, so it was double the blessing to make my Hot 97 interview debut with him on Ebro In The Morning today! The Bad Boy rapper stopped by to discuss his new single and its powerful…
Behind The Lyrics: Wiz Khalifa Comes For Amber’s Neck On “For Everybody”
Last night, Juicy J dropped his Wiz Khalifa-assisted single “For Everybody,” and boy did Wiz have some choice words for his ex Amber Rose on the track! And to drive the point home, they included a photo of themselves at his wedding to Amber as the song’s artwork.
(Video) Honey Cocaine Plays A Hilarious Game Of Taboo
Toronto-bred raptress Honey Cocaine made her rounds at Hot 97 a few weeks back, promoting her latest mixtape Like A Drug, and its 2 singles, “Gwola” featuring Kid Ink and Maino, and “None Of My Business” with Kirko Bangz and Constantine. Following her dope interview with Jen From BK for Jen’s “Ladies First” segment, I…
Interview: Machine Gun Kelly On Debut Film: “I hope that it kind of strikes a social issue…” [PLUS Details On Sophomore Album!]
This Friday, Colson ‘MGK‘ Baker will make his big-screen debut, starring as Kid Culprit in the romantic drama, Beyond The Lights. Since his 2012 Bad Boy/Interscope debut Lace Up and his breakout single “Wild Boy,” Kells has toured the world and shot not only Beyond The Lights, but two more as-of-yet unreleased films as well.…
Elijah Blake Gives 7 Tips How NOT To Act Around A Celeb, Plus Talks New EP, His First Big Check & More!
Singer/songwriter Elijah Blake has worked with a majority of the biggest names in the music business from Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Usher, Mary J and more, either having written for them or being featured on their songs. Now with his recently released Drift EP (available on iTunes here,) the talented Def Jam signee sat down to…
IFWT Exclusive: Maino Gives Us The REAL Story Of What Happened With The Porn Star!
Maino is currently being sought out by the NYPD for questioning, after an adult film star accused him of assaulting her inside of his truck after they partied at Griffin on Monday night with Drake, Ashanti, JR Smith and more. According to the police report filed by the porn star, Mellanie Monroe, “he started punching…
Mila J Reveals The Real Deal Between Her & A Rumored Beau, Plus Talks New EP, Diet/Workout, Her Mains & More!
Gorgeous singer/songwriter/dancer Mila J finally released her debut EP M.I.L.A. (Made In L.A.) yesterday, after years of trying out girl groups, various solo ventures, random day jobs and the like. She’s finally found her niche now though, and has seen success with her latest singles, “Smoke, Drink, Break-Up” and the Ty Dolla $ign-assisted, “My Main.”…