President Obama’s war speech at West Point is a study in futility. Obama intends to increase American troop strength in Afghanistan by a mere 30,000, and then start bringing them home 18 months later. Setting a timetable for success in military struggle is asking for defeat, especially when limited resources are brought to bear on the enemy. No wonder no one is happy with the President’s Afghan policy. Obama’s limited, temporary buildup of American forces will only prolong the agony in that war-torn region.
Both of my local papers captured the folly of the President’s plan. One headline read, “Obama outlines buildup, exit plan,” while the other paper’s subtitle mused, “First Marines to arrive by Christmas; withdrawal plan in place.” Obama doesn’t seem to know whether he’s coming or going.
Imagine General Eisenhower on D-Day announcing, “We’ll be out of Europe in 18 months.” Of course, the war in Europe ended less than 12 months after the Normandy invasion, but not because we were looking for a way out before we went in. Back when America knew how to fight a war, overwhelming force was applied without regard to budgets or timetables. My how times have changed.
Our Commander-in-Chief is pinning his hopes on the transformation of Pakistan. ”We will act,” intoned Obama, “with the full recognition that our success in Afghanistan is inextricably linked to our partnership with Pakistan.” If true, there’s as good a reason as any to pull out now. Within a year and a half, the President expects that Pakistan will be rid of the corruption, nepotism and factionalism that has defined it for centuries. By comparison, Chicago would be a breeze to clean up.
The President is caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, for the better part of a decade he and virtually every other Democrat claimed that President Bush’s foray into Iraq diverted America from the true war on terror. Afghanistan was the war we should fight. On the other hand, Obama’s far-left supporters want American troops out of both countries. Obama’s grand plan accommodates both of these viewpoints, and in so doing guarantees failure to achieve the only legitimate goal of war – winning.
Incredibly, our President is extending an olive branch “to those Taliban who abandon violence and respect the human rights of their fellow citizens.” Besides the fact that he is asking Zebras to change their stripes, all citizens of Afghanistan know that America will abandon them beginning just 18 months hence. The President of the United States said so, for goodness sake. We may believe Taliban fighters are short on gray matter, but even they know what will happen once their American cover is removed. Taliban converts to peace and freedom better load up on life insurance.
The President did not use the word “win” in his address. That’s about the only thing he got right.
Posted by Jerry Pomeroy in War on Terror