FINISHING THE FIGHT BY THROWING IN THE TOWEL?
Finishing the Fight?Tim Wilsonhttp://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.4932/pub_detail.asp
“As commander-in-chief, I will have no greater priority than taking out these terrorists who threaten America, and finishing the job against the Taliban,” and “…our first priority has to be finishing the fight against Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan…” then-Senator Barak Obama, August 19th, 2008
“…as Commander-in-Chief, I have determined that it is in our vital national interest to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan. After 18 months, our troops will begin to come home.†and “…we have at times made mistakes.â€President Barak Obama, November 1, 2009
As promised, after months of careful consideration and consultation with experts, President Obama announced at West Point, in front of an audience of Cadets, that he intends to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan. Let me rephrase that… after months of dithering and political wrangling with members of his own party, President Obama announced to the nation, against a backdrop of West Point Cadets, that he plans neither to withdraw from Afghanistan nor to send the full complement of reinforcements requested by his own appointed military commander and Afghanistan insurrection expert, Gen. McChrystal.
Those West Point Cadets were placed in an awkward situation. It is rare for a mere Cadet to get the chance to see his Commander-in-Chief in person. It is even rarer for him or her to be present when major policy/strategy initiatives are unveiled. They are taught respect for the office of President, so it must be hard, in the light of the accompanying publicity, for students of military history, strategy, operations and tactics to refrain from making public comments on what they heard. Even as military tyros they know this C-in-C just used them for pure political theatre and gave their superiors implausible direction.
In this speech, there was no mention of victory. There was no mention of winning. There was little mention even of the Taliban and only three references to terrorists. In what is arguably the most difficult terrain in the world, against the most hardened fighters, an additional 30,000 U.S. troops, effectively in theatre for around one year, are, despite their undeniable quality and commitment, unlikely to achieve shock and awe amongst Afghanis, especially those of a terrorist persuasion. Even reinforced by an unspecified additional number of NATO allies (some of whom are less useful than one would wish) and “a substantial increase in our civilians on the ground†(as promised by the President in March and who will be protected by ???) the task these young leaders have just been set is worse than daunting. Add in the apparent requirements to Mirandize prisoners and avoid excessive use of force (even then they may well face Courts Martial for abuse, as with the Navy SEALs who recently captured Ahmed Abed, one of the most wanted terrorists operating in Iraq) and these fine youngsters must wonder what they are getting into.
As a practical demonstration of his leadership abilities, this performance by President Obama must be given an “F.†For his political leadership this also grades at “F.†As a demonstration of his commitment (see the quotes at the top) this gets an “F†grade. Repeating President Johnson’s Vietnam mistake of piecemeal troop increases earns another Presidential “F†grade. Repeating President Nixon’s Vietnam mistake of committing to withdrawal irrespective of anything other than domestic political consideration draws an “F†grade. Failing to set victory conditions, for which he so scathingly condemned President Bush over Iraq, draws yet another “F†grade. Claiming that he will find the financing for his Afghanistan surge by cutting back in Iraq, again regardless of conditions there and which may result in snatching defeat from the jaws of a hard-won victory (after all, he opposed the surge), earns still another “F†grade.
President Obama is setting the stage to “finish the fight†alright. His strategy consists of preparing to throw in the towel. That is the perception of our enemies, and even of many of our allies. Sadly, it may well also be the perception of many of our nation’s finest youth, who were present for a real moment in history, and may well end up carrying the scars to prove it. Let us hope that the consequences of all this compromise do not scar America as well.
Family Security Matters Contributing Editor Tim Wilson is a retired British Army officer who now works as an independent consultant. Feedback: editorialdirector@familysecuritymatters.org.
Comments are closed.
