marching them up to the top of the hill

I haven't had time to fully absorb the reports of Obama's speech let alone read/watch the thing itself. But my first reaction is puzzlement. I know there are no good options. I know that Obama probably feels like repeating that old joke about a man asking for directions and being told "Well I wouldn't start from here." But this seems like the worst of both worlds: more troops, but with a withdrawal date that's eighteen months away. How does that work?

I hate to agree with the Foxies, but how keen are the Afghan people going to be to take sides against the Taliban if they know that within 18 months their protectors will be gone? How likely are the less crazy parts of the Taliban itself to consider doing deals? It's like Obama's been reading The Art of War by The Grand Old Duke of York.

I may well be very wrong about this and will wait to see what wiser and more informed heads say. One thing's for sure, though: he's managed to find the most politically difficult route available to him. Neither the right nor the left will be satisfied. At a lunch with journalists yesterday he said he was "painfully aware" of this. He also talked about the war as if it were a mere nuisance, a distraction from the business of fixing America's problems at home:

"I would prefer not having to deal with two wars right now. We've got a lot other business that we've got to do with our long-term security prosperity."

Not the most motivating message to send to the troops, or the most intimidating message for the Taliban.

Comments

[Charles]

I'm going to park this because its a shit sandwich inheritance. That said I saw nothing creative or visionary and no definitive context for withdrawal. No change as of yet.

[Will M]

Short of bringing home bin Laden in a bag, there's very little that can come out of Afghanistan that's a positive for Obama. What he really needs is to get this out of the headlines as soon as possible. Cheyney will call him a bad war leader whatever he does; the important thing is to make sure the American public either don't think that or don't care.

[kjc]

i recommend watching the Frontline episode Obama's War. among other things, it puts the truth to the lie that we're "protecting" the Afghan people. our presence makes them less safe, not more. amazing how little anyone understands about occupation.