In the fight for the future of Afghanistan and the security of America, the president has “stiffened his resolve” to finally make a decision on General McChrystal’s request for forces:
(The) president raised questions at a war council meeting Wednesday that could alter the dynamic of both how many additional troops are sent to Afghanistan and what the timeline would be for their presence in the war zone, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Obama’s thinking.
Military officials said Obama has asked for a rewrite before and resisted what one official called a one-way highway toward war commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s recommendations for more troops. The sense that he was being rushed and railroaded has stiffened Obama’s resolve to seek information and options beyond military planning, officials said, though a substantial troop increase is still likely.
It’s understandable that the president does not want to reprise the LBJ role in Vietnam, feeding ever more young men into the grinder. But I think he mistakes his man in McChrystal.
Vietnam era generals cut their teeth in the World War II and Korean War, wars of attrition. But the army of today has evolved from heavy maneuver formations to counter-insurgency veterans and the man atop the heap in the Af – the president’s own choice – was a veteran SOF operator. Those guys don’t go heavy just to be seen going heavy.
It’s right and proper to ask State what their plans are to support the civil campaign, but it’s borderline ridiculous to leave the deployed soldiers with their flanks hanging in the air while we dither between 30 or 40,000 forces. He ought to at least pull the trigger on whatever the smallest number in contemplation is now – 20,000 say – and tell State and DoD to keep grinding on strategy.
That, at least, would allow the forces identified to train up, deploy and get positioned for the spring campaign, while communicating to the Taliban that he meant what he said about putting them down.
Making no decision in effect yields the initiative to the foe.
He’s looking for the Unicorn the mythical beast that solves the problem without us having to actually do anything but make grand speeches that fawning masses declare to be manna from heaven. To anyone actually paying attention, and I suspect the enemy pays very close attention, he looks like a fool. But he’s our fool and we, or more precisely the soldiers in the short term and all of us in the long term, will pay the price.
This and the PC BS that the Chief of Staff can’t seem to go a day without spewing makes me want to puke.
“The *failure to make a decision* changes the course of future events just as surely as does the *making* of a decision”
The above sentence was included in a memo sent by frustrated French officers to their supreme commander, Maurice Gamelin, circa 1939.
And we all know how *that* turned out.
The man spent the better part of 18 months of the presidential campaign saying over and over that Afghanistan is the right war, the necessary war. And here he is, nearly one year into his actual presidency, sitting on intelligence reports and recommendations from the ground for months.
Obama has had more than enough time to review the recommendations from General McChrystal and ask questions or seek additional strategic options.
You’d think that after campaigning on it and having several strategic options in his hands for nearly 4 months Obama would know what he needs to do. Yet he continues to play international footsy with the lives of our warriors.
Men and women who Obama isn’t fit to be within 100,000 miles of.
If it hasn’t been clear before, it is now. Obama is incompetent. He is supposed to be Commander-in-Chief; looks like he’s Coward-in-Chief for putting politics over the safety and well-being of our warriors.
Asshole.
Kris, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you weren’t too fond of our President.
I agree with Capt. Lex. If we don’t know how many troops we’re eventually going to send, get half of them geared up now and keep working on the final number. Sheesh, inexperience rears it’s ugly head again.
Idaho – that was the scrubbed version of my thoughts. Cuz I respect everyone here too much, most especially our gracious host, and I don’t want to be too shocking.
My blood boils to the point of a flash fire at this kind of crap from the White House. Embolden our enemies, give them not just a sneak peek or preview but a fully-fledged feature length film into our plans or lack thereof.
And leave our warriors hanging in the breeze. It sickens me.
The fighting season begins in the Spring. The number of troops required to hold areas should have been acted upon months ago, so that they would be in place and the taliban would not be entrenched before the season.
The delay and inadequate numbers will result in far more losses.
And this is the same son of a bitch who swore that 3am phone calls were his forte. It was my opinion in an earlier post that waiting until Spring might be better, after resting and training for an all-out invasion. However, if the good General says he needs 40K troops now we give him 40K troops now and ask “Ya sure that’s all ya need?”.
Micromanaging this war from places far removed from it WILL have disastrous results. I’m still not convinced that’s not what the Coward-in-Chief (Good phrase, Kris) wants. To him the only good war is one where America’s troops die en masse.
The same America that put him in the White House. The same America that provided him and the Missus over 7.4M in earnings in 2007. The same America in need of fundamental remaking, whatever the hell that means. It sounds suspiciously like the same sort of crap that spawned a couple of revolutions in a now defunct Union of Something of…I don’t know. Anyone remember the name?
That could be us in a decade, after following this, um, (you fill in the blank…quietly…to yourself.) Excuse me. I need a cup of coffee…and some fresh air.
If only 1/2 or less of the energy that went into strategizing and implementing the campaigns to take over the banks, the insurance companies, the control of the lawfully agreed upon compensation, and the current marketing of the government run health care system has been put into the effort to determine the course of action in the actual kinetic war now “using up” young men and women (who took the same oath as the Commander-in-Chief), I suspect we would be well on our way to the “Afghan Awakening.”
My contention: “Commander-in-Chief” is a designated, non-negotiable “PD” in The Constitution. “Marketeer-of-personal-brand-of-Politics” is, at best, a collateral duty. Huge observation: I find no requirement to perform as the “CEO of private CEOs” in same document.
The man who is the duly elected President is not taking his responsibility seriously. He is taking the futherance of the Democrat Party’s agenda as his first and foremost priority, while good men and women die.
Mongo, that would Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, another way to spell economic failure.
Coward in Chief is a very good description of this President. He’s a very good example of moral cowardice.
Thanks, QM. I guess my point is that should we continue down the path this cretin has for us, in another decade or two people will be asking themselves “The United States of…? Anarchy…anachronism…hmm. What was it again?”
Alas, we are heading in the same direction as the old SU went. They got exactly what you listed, but they got there for the same reasons we will get there.
You either have confidence in your commanders, or you replace them. A commander with integrity will resign if he’s not allowed to do his job. It doesn’t matter if the ambassador was recently in command of those forces or not; he’s not the one in the hot seat now. If Obama wants to listen to his advice over McChrystal, then he should put the right man in the role.
And “feeling rushed”- wtf? The man’s been dithering and refusing to make a decision for months. Again, either follow the recommendations of your commander on the spot, or replace him.
If the 0 is torn between sending 30,000 or 40,000 troops that his General has asked for, then for God’s own sweet sake why doesn’t he send 30,000 right away, and, after he gets his Big Boy Pants on, he can send the other 10,000? I know I’m not a soldier, but it sounds reasonable to me. Time is of the essence here, and the lives of brave men and women are on the line.
Marianne
MM; Logic and rationality are your forte. The WON…not at all, the only factor in his calculations are the variable of “vote getting implication.” He always works to maximize that number.
I’ve been deleting 2 of 3 comments lately. I figure, like Kris that you don’t need to read that.
Let’s suppose you’re an American Army general tasked with something or other in Afghanistan but you don’t have the resources needed to defend the whole country.
I once had the pleasure of working for a navy boss who declared that the very instant the pilot fly hours ran out of funds he planned to ground every single navy plane in the Persian Gulf until the government ponied up some more money. I never doubted that he was sincere.
So General, why don’t you just declare that you’ll be consolidating your positions and pulling out of 2 thirds of Afghanistan while you await reinforcements? O sure, you’d be fired practically instantly but your troops and us, we’d respect you. Is there like a cote d’Azur or Paris in Afghanistan that you could concentrate all of your firepower defending?
You could pull out of the poppy growing places and all the NATO places but finding Paris in Afghanistan, good luck. You could ask the navy IAs but I’m pretty sure that all you’d get from them is a nope, no sign of Paris here General.
He feels he’s being “rushed and railroaded” on executing a war that’s underway? But the Health Care must be passed immediately, “the time for bickering is over”?? Former VP Cheney had it right – dickering.
Uh, sorry “dithering”
You almost had the right term the first time. part of it is there, the other part is “around.”
As a Muslim without a pair, the O is searching for a way to vote Present.
As stated above, pull back to a strong point and issue beer.
In coupla months, O will delare victory and bring them home.
And thats OK. Let the ‘Stan stay in the 7th century.
They are all reading Lessons in Disaster: McGeorge Bundy and the Path to War in Vietnam .
Some may call that “dithering.” Some others may call that necessary research and due process.
Read the book and you will likely know what will happen this time, unlike last time …. where I had been there and done that, and for what?
Dear Fliterman,
I think the President would get cut a wee more slack if he hadn’t already golfed more in his first 9 or so months of office than Pres. Bush did in 2 years. http://www.politico.com/click/stories/0910/obama_ties_bush_on_golf.html Oh, and the fund raising and campaigning for corrupt N.J. pols doesn’t help either http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/10/23/obama-hits-the-fundraising-circuit/ . At the end of the day this is someone who has never held executive office, and we are going to pay a price in blood not just for his learning curve but for his own choice to forgo consensus for hyper-partisanship that leads him to need to spend so much more time fund raising and politicking (and apparently golfing…).
ps: Lessons in Disaster is 320 pages (including footnotes and index I imagine – just how long does it take The Brightest Team of Rivals Ever to read one book?
I sure am glad that Malia and Sasha’s father has the luxury of declining to make a decision on whether or not to give the ground commander the requested combat power he needs to secure the battle space. LCpl Matt’s father is pretty nervous about the good LCpl’s upcoming Afghan vacation, without the requisite firepower to keep his offspring in one piece.
For a bunch of people that spent five years trashing GWB over “not listening to the generals”, not deploying enough troops, the silence from the left is deafening. Not so easy for those of us with skin in the game. Get in, or get out, Mr. President. Stop playing political poker with my chips.
Some may call that “dithering.” Some others may call that necessary research and due process.
Research and due process? You are kidding, right? As stated by me above, Obama spent 18 months telling us Afghanistan is the necesssary war. I would have thought that statement would have been backed up with the research and due process necessary to stake your candidacy on it.
Even if we don’t take that into consideration – the Cowardin-Chief has had Gen. McChrystal’s recommendations since July. Just how long does someone need to say yes to option 1, 2 or 3 – especially when those options have been presented to you by the person you handpicked to do just that.
Dear Fliterman,
Two things – first of all, I think it is harder for many of us to cut The One some slack, given that he has already played as much golf in 9 months as W. did in two years (while engaging in fund raising and politicking for a very corrupt N.J. governor).
Secondly, Lessons in Disaster is 320 pages long (including I presume footnotes and index). Just how long does the Bestest and Brightest Team of Rivals and Smartest Folks What Ever Headed a White House (ever) need to read a 320 page book?
Dear Flit,
Sorry for the mistake above – it took Pres. Bush 2 years and 10 months to play as much golf as The One (and the Lightworker has done 23 fundraisers (vs. 6 for W – all of this courtesy of http://www.thebarackobamawatch.com/What_If_Bush_Had_Done_It.html). I imagine he could have finished more than 1 chapter of Lessons in Disaster by skipping a few rounds of golf, non?
Dear DC,
Your points are well taken.
However, if I would want to be obstinate, I could “see” your Bush/Obama golfing comparison, and “raise” you with Bush’s 33% of the time on vacation (487 days at Camp David, 490 days at his Texas Ranch. LINK)
… “I could?” … Well, I guess I just did, didn’t I? Sorry.
More seriously, of the several options available to the President, none of them are very good or desirable options. It is very difficult to choose the less poor option. As we used to sarcastically say in my past life….
… “Indecision is the key to flexibility.”
(Not to make light of this serious matter, but I think it applies.. How appropriate it is, is up for debate.)