THE AFGHANISTAN DECISION

Standing before a military audience at West Point, Barack Hussein Obama appeared to be haughty and defiant as he began his address to the nation and announced his long-awaited decision regarding the Afghanistan conflict.

General McChrystal had asked for 40,000 more troops in Afghanistan, 40,000 being the minimum. For the following 90 days, the White House hammered away on the 40,000 figure as being what McChrystal recommended, but that 30,000 should be considered. Finally, under growing pressure and having been ostracized for his procrastination, Obama announced that he is approving another 30,000 troops for the war in Afghanistan. He was quick to say that McChrystal had not asked for the troops until 2010, and that allowed him to take time in making his decision. He was also quick to say that the additional troops would be coming home within 18 months, and justified that deadline as being a means to force the Afghanistan government to step up to the plate as well as the actual costs of the war.

Obama prefaced his remarks by saying that the war in Iraq should not have been fought and that all troops there would be removed within the next year. He did not mention that the number of U.S. deaths in Afghanistan under Bush averaged seven per month while averaging 28 since he took office.

Obama reasserted his intention to close the Guantanamo detention center, and then closed his speech with an emphasis about all of the good things the United States has accomplished in world security over the past 60 years. And, that was the gist of what the President had to say.

It’s what the President did NOT say that matters. He did NOT lay out his case for sending in the 30,000 troops. The fact that it took him 90 days to approve 10,000 troops less than what his commander in the field was asking for sends a clear message that he is not decisive and he is not committed to winning the war. He did not explain his strategy that he has been mulling over for the past 90 days while his detractors have been growing increasingly restless and critical. Nor did he fire up the audience with some statement to the effect that we can, we must, and we will win.

Other than that, I suppose it was a nice attempt.

I think that I would have thrown out a not-so-vague message about being able to have additional military strength in that area in case we should have to take some action regarding the Iranian situation. But, then again, if we keep allowing the Somali pirates to steal oil barges enroute to the United States, we may not have enough fuel to do much more than to make a fleeting appearance in Iran.

After such a long delay in reaching his decision, I expected a concise, well laid out, fiery speech and a dramatic finish that would inspire the country and rally the troops. I didn’t hear that. Maybe the thought that the $30 billion projected cost for the additional troops might sidetrack his government-run health care plan took the starch out of his britches.