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Bill Ayers: Afghanistan surge 'mistake'

by Mark Silva

Alan Colmes of the FOX News Channel sat down with Bill Ayers, the University of Illinois at Chicago education professor and erstwhile Underground Weatherman. And Colmes will rejoin his erstwhile on-air partner, Sean Hannity, tonight to report on their talk.

Ayers had this to say about President Barack Obama committing an additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan: "It's a mistake. It's a colossal mistake. And, you know, we've seen this happen before, Alan. We've seen a hopeful presidency, Lyndon Johnson's presidency, burn up in the furnace of war."

"I fear that this brilliant young man, this hopeful new administration, could easily burn their prospect of a great presidency in the war in Afghanistan or elsewhere,'' Ayers says in the interview airing at 9 pm EST on FOX's Hannity."

And Ayers had this to say about his own days in the anti-Vietnam War protests, the group he cofounded sometimes having made its point with bombs:

"I don't regret anything I did it to oppose the war. It was -- I did it to oppose the war. I don't regret it. I don't look back on those things and regret them, but I'm willing to rethink them. And there are many things which I'm going to rethink."

Ayers' friendship with Obamathe former Illinois senator served on civic board with him, and the professor hosted a small fundraiser for Obama's first state legislative campaignbecame a target of the Republican rivals' campaign criticism last year. GOP running mate Sarah Palin accused Obama of "pallin' around with terrorists.''

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