Afghanistan: The Good War (TGW henceforth) as we have been told since Obama even thought of running for President is becoming tougher and tougher for the United States to fight day by day.
So the President says that he needs to weigh all his options on fighting this war that he supports. Erm...ok go for it. So he has two main options: Add more troops, or don't.
If he doesn't add more troops then he has to change the entire strategy of how this is being fought. That means more aggressive rules of engagement, constant assaults across national borders into Pakistani territory and likely other bordering nations, confronting Iran more actively and actually fighting this like a war rather than a police action.
Gen. McChrystal thinks that adding 40K more troops will help. And even that isn't a sure thing because we have to depend on a corrupt national government, half-trained Afghani soldiers and fight against local warlords whose money flows from the opium trade...which makes heroin that is consumed mainly in the USA and Western Europe. Our own decadence is biting us in the ass in real time.
President Obama may or may not be thoughtfully engaging in the process of reviewing the strategy or formulating a new one ( I hope he is), but he is failing to lead/govern in the meantime as he is quite close-lipped on what exactly he is thinking. This may have flown back in the days before cable TV, the internet and satellites; but he needs to be engaged more in his own press conferences and make his intent clear.
Does he intend to prosecute this war to SOME victorious condition? Or is he looking to disengage like we did in Vietnam, or as the Russians did two decades ago?
In my opinion he isn't sure. I think he really wants to push his domestic agenda (as observed here http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/02/curl-obama-distractions-sideline-afghan-plan/
And some think that he might be willing to let soldiers die to push healthcare. That is a rather callous observation and would make him quite evil. I don't think he is evil.
And assuming his press secretary is truthful...
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that walking away isn't a viable option to deal with a war that is about to enter its ninth year.
"I don't think we have the option to leave. That's quite clear," Gibbs said.
Well ok then, but that doesn't answer the real question. The question is now are we going to stay and lose or stay and win?
McChrystal is being rather shortsighted in being so public about his views and bordering on insubordination. Yes he knows better than the President on how to prosecute a war, but the President is his CnC and a general ought not pick a fight against his boss who can up and fire him for such comments as he has been making no matter his intentions. McChrystal has foot-in-mouth disease...and his mouth is writing checks that his body certainly can't cash. So far the President being merely irked is a bad sign to me...showing that he isn't really serious.
If I were the President I would 1) be in more consistent communication either through the Pentagon or directly with McChrystal so he doesn't feel hung out to dry.
2) Have a press conference specifically on Afghanistan
3) Announce that we are closing down our base in Germany to re-open it in Afghanistan and move all troops there.
4) Annihilate the bad guys with extreme prejudice.
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