Sen. Jim Webb (D-Virg.), whom I wish were our Secretary of Defense, defended President Obama’s deliberative decision-making process regarding Afghanistan on the Sunday gab-along shows. "The process that this administration is using is, I think, a very proper and smart process," he said on CNN. "This deliberative process is what we need because we're going to end up living with the results for some time."
Vietnam veteran Webb also noted "If you look at the way the Bush administration maneuvered this country into the war in Iraq, you can see the long term results of bad decision-making."
Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) told FOX News "It would be a mistake to have any significant number of additional combat forces because I would like to see a large increase in the Afghan army be the major way in which this is successful."
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) told CBS "It is time to start thinking about bringing troops out of Afghanistan and reducing our commitment there," and pledged to oppose any troop escalation. "If necessary, we will act to prevent this mistake," he said.
The war porn crowd pushed a different perspective.
"Clearly, time is of the essence here," Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) told FOX News. "I'm afraid that with every passing day we risk the future success of the mission."
"I think it's taken too long," Sen. Orrin Hatch, (R-Utah) told CNN. "Why not follow the advice of his hand-picked general?"
Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain told CBS, "Every day we delay will be a delay in this strategy succeeding," and that "The sooner we implement the strategy the more we will able to ensure (the troops') safety."
Good old cement-noggin McCain: the best way to ensure the troops’ safety is to get them out of harm’s way, not put more troops into it. The Taliban and other militant groups out there won’t attack U.S. troops unless they make themselves vulnerable by patrolling dangerous places in small numbers. And the situation in Iraq has been deteriorating for eight years. A few more weeks won’t much matter.
I’m with Feingold. There is no longer a significant threat to U.S. national security from Afghanistan to justify escalating and extending a war that has already gone on for eight indecisive years.
The notion that a president should jump through the ceiling every time one of his generals ask him for something is ludicrous. The Republicans’ suggestion that Obama has a duty to do so is patently ludicrous, if not downright seditious.
McChrystal has made himself into a media star, and is the darling of the hawks in Congress. You notice that nobody has talked about hunting down whoever it was who leaked McChrystal’s classified assessment of Afghanistan? That’s for the same reason nobody in the war mafia wants the Justice Department to investigate torture, because they know where the investigation would lead—straight to the top of the pyramid.
Obama has a major conundrum on his hands. He tagged the puppy when he called Afghanistan a "war of necessity" and vowed to get the job done. Now, unnamed "senior officers" around the globe are crying like infants that he isn’t giving them what they need. The military, according to media reports, is extremely "frustrated" with Obama.
Reports suggest that Defense Secretary Robert Gates to cool it with the leaks and rumors. If that’s true, he waited way too long; the cats are out of the corral. Obama supposedly gave McChrystal a face-to-face dressing down on Air Force One. He should have done that sooner.
Obama is smart enough to know he’s being boxed in by a group of crafty manipulators, in Defense, in Congress and in the media. I admire his ability to keep his cool under pressure, but something will need to pop fairly soon.
Following the deadliest attacks in Iraq since 2007, Obama called Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and promised him, "The United States will stand with Iraq’s people and government as a close friend and partner as Iraqis prepare for elections early next year, continue to take responsibility for their future and build greater peace and opportunity."
Oh, dear. Did he just trap himself into extending our stay in Iraq?
Gen. Ray Odierno, commander in Iraq, has said he expects the insurgency there to go on for five to 15 more years. Does that mean we’ll need to stick around to "continue to take responsibility?"
Commander Jeff Huber, U.S. Navy (Retired) writes at Pen and Sword . Jeff's novel Bathtub Admirals (Kunati Books), a lampoon on America's rise to global dominance, is on sale now.