Ed Morrissey at Hot Air today comments on the statement General Stanley McChrystal made to CBS reporter David Martin in a television interview that aired Sunday. The General stated that he has only spoken to President Obama once since taking command of Afghanistan. I know we live in an age of email and blackberries, but I do think this is extreme.
General McChrystal was appointed by President Obama. He is the President's choice to command our troops in Afghanistan. There is some real question now as to what the President's plan is in Afghanistan.
The New York Times reports that General McChrystal in recent weeks has launched a "force optimization" study:
"The study has found "perhaps a couple of thousand" troops who could be replaced or whose missions could be refocused to better carry out the current strategy, according to one senior military officer involved in the effort. General McChrystal's request for more troops is expected to include different troop levels for different goals, an administration official said. The figure of 40,000 would be what one official described as the "we're in this to win" option, which would include ambitious goals for securing the cities, clearing out the countryside of Taliban insurgents and nation-building. More modest troop increases could achieve more limited goals, the official said, including redeploying existing troops to focus mainly on cities."
There was a movie released in 2007 called THE KITE RUNNER. It showed in graphic terms what happened when America left Afghanistan after the Russians were defeated (and what the Afghans thought of America because we left). The question here is how reliable an ally are we. We are not doing a very good job of being an ally right now--ask the Poles, the Czech Republic, and Honduras.
I have said before. I am the wife of a Viet Nam era veteran and the mother in law of an active duty Marine who will be headed to Afghanistan shortly. If we are going to put our soldiers in danger, it had better be to win. Yes, I know it is not a football game--it is our national security. If we do not follow through in Afghanistan, then we have given Iran a major victory in the war on terror. We have told them that they can continue to do whatever they want with their nuclear program because we do not have the courage to stay the course.
It is my hope that President Obama will listen to the General he appointed--the General is much more educated and experienced in the art of war.
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