… I like the fact that Obama said he would expedite the deployment of the additional troops to Afghanistan.
I went to bed annoyed about the wishy-washyness of what David Ignatius has labeled the “surge, then leave” strategy — why commit to a July 2011 date to begin drawing down the troops? The administration can’t even predict how many Americans will accept free money to buy a new car. What makes them think they can predict that the country will be stable enough to start leaving in 18 months — in a situation where the enemy gets a vote?
But this morning I remembered that with Guantanamo, Obama has already proven his ability to abandon a silly deadline. Once the troops are deployed, the boots on the ground will be real. The withdrawal date will be a goal.
It’s Mr. Obama’s war now.
(White House photo of the announcement at West Point)
He set a deadline for purely political reasons. He wants to start bringing the troops home at that time because it is the summer before his next election. He wants to make sure he keeps his liberal base happy.
Agreed. All politicians, of any party, have to be concerned about keeping their base happy. I'm OK with that — when July 2011 comes along, Obama willl have to make a decision about whether sticking to that arbitrary deadline is worth opening himself up to accusations that he chose to surrender in a war he might have won.
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