GOP leader under siege after verbal salvo against Obama, Afghan war

Washington, July 3 (ANI): Republican honcho Michael Steele continues to face calls for his resignation following his criticism of President Obama, the Afghan war and the U.S. troop surge in that country.

At a Connecticut fundraiser Thursday, Steele rewrote the history of the Afghan war launched by former President George W. Bush after 9/11. Steele said it was a war "of Obama's choosing...not something the U.S. had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in."

Obama failed to understand that "the one thing you don't do is engage in a land war in Afghanistan," Steele said. "There are other ways to engage in Afghanistan without committing U.S. troops."

According to the New York Daily News, Conservative bloggers went ballistic and Fox commentator and neocon guru Bill Kristol sent a "Dear Michael" letter urging Steele to perform "an act of service for the country you love: Resign as chairman of the Republican party."

Steele, whose tenure as Republican National Committee chairman has often rattled party elders, began dialing back yesterday but did not apologize.

Steele spoke of his pride in standing with the "mothers of soldiers lost at war," adding: "winning a war in Afghanistan is a difficult task. We must also remember that after the tragedy of September 11, 2001, it is also a necessary one."

"Michael is a disaster," a party elder told the Daily News," but we need to get through the fall elections before we decide what to do with him." (ANI)