Friday, October 9, 2009

Obama Wants a Strategy in Afghanistan When He Already Has One?

Charles Krauthammer writes today about how Obama and the Democrats are hemming and hawing on Afghanistan, even after declaring they had a strategy to win.

You will remember how the Democrats voted overwhelmingly for the Iraq War after 9/11. Remember how every member of Congress stood on the steps for that awesome photo-op? But when the going got tough there, they switched sides and declared it a bad thing and beat George Bush over the head with it.

But Afghanistan, they said, was a different story. It was a must-win war. And then they got elected. Oops. Now what do we do?

Krauthammer says, "So what does their commander in chief do now with the war he once declared had to be won but had been almost criminally under-resourced by Bush? Perhaps provide the resources to win it? You would think so. And that's exactly what Obama's handpicked commander requested on Aug. 30 -- a surge of 30,000 to 40,000 troops to stabilize a downward spiral and save Afghanistan the way a similar surge saved Iraq."

Even though McChrystal gave his recommendation in late August, he still hasn't gotten anything. Obama is huddled with his advisors. National Security Adviser James Jones says they need a strategy.

Huh?

"No strategy? On March 27, flanked by his secretaries of defense and state, the president said this: 'Today I'm announcing a comprehensive new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.' He then outlined a civilian-military counterinsurgency campaign to defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan.

"And to emphasize his seriousness, the president made clear that he had not arrived casually at this decision. The new strategy, he declared, 'marks the conclusion of a careful policy review.'"

Who should be the one making the strategy? Obama and his advisors -- none of whom have served in the military, much less have combat experience -- or General McChrystal, who "was in charge of exactly this kind of 'counterterrorism' in Iraq for nearly five years, killing thousands of bad guys in hugely successful under-the-radar operations"?

You can find the original article here.

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