Since Obama used his brief stint as a U.S. Senator from Illinois basically to run for President, you might be excused for the brashness of thinking that maybe, just maybe he would have spent some time prior to his election giving some thought to his policy in the Afghan war.
That would be presumptious. This President throws it up against the wall and then sees what sticks.
After 10 frustratiing, dithering, obfuscating months in office we STILL don’t have the number of troops on the ground that the theater Commander has requested. At some point, the situation moves from an issue of timing, politics and whether or not the Afghan government is just exactly the right partner for us in that country and it becomes a moral imperative.
When the lives of our military personnel are at risk daily, all other considerations pale in contrast to giving them the troop levels they need to bring this war to a successful conclusion.
Make a decision Mr. President and make it quickly. American lives are at stake and they can’t afford the luxury of mulling things over like you can.
~~John Cronin~~
By Anne E. Kornblut
Washington Post Staff Writer
SEOUL — President Barack Obama will not announce his decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan before the Thanksgiving holiday, senior aides said on Thursday.
The news came as the president greeted 1,500 troops at Osan Air Base in South Korea, just before boarding Air Force One and heading back to Washington after an eight-day Asia trip.
Obama and his top military and diplomatic aides have been deliberating for months over how to proceed in Afghanistan, where the United States and its partners have sought for eight years to defeat the Taliban and deny al-Qaeda a safe haven from which it can plan and launch attacks.
Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, has stated that without the deployment of up to 40,000 additional of troops within the next year, the mission “will likely result in failure.” But some aides are arguing for a much smaller troop increase, and the U.S. ambassador in Kabul, Karl W. Eikenberry, has questioned whether the Afghan government can be a reliable partner.
Obama said in interviews Wednesday that he would reveal his decision within the next several weeks. On Thursday, aides clarified that there would be no announcement before Thanksgiving, one week away. Senior administration officials said Obama intends to meet with his national security team again before going public with his plans.
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