Obviously there were numerous articles written last night and this morning about the President's speech at West Point last night. The sources for this article are a piece by Rich Lowry in the New York Post, an article by Chris Stirewalt in the Washington Examiner, and an article by Michael Rubin at Forbes.com.
Rich Lowry begins his analysis of the speech by giving the President credit for stepping up to the plate and sending most of the additional soldiers that General McChrystal requested. He then mentions the President's commitment to begin bringing the troops home in 18 months. Mr. Lowry points out that some Americans see that as a commitment to a speedy victory, others see it as a promise to get the troops home well before the next presidential election.
Chris Stirewalt points out:
"To anti-war liberals, it was a reminder of their revulsion every time George W. Bush used the (9/11) attacks as a pretext for his foreign policy. From the moment Bush grabbed the bullhorn at the ruins of the World Trade Center, they felt that he had co-opted a national tragedy for his own agenda.
"So it came as a particularly cruel irony for many of the president's most ardent supporters when he argued for escalating a war most liberals believe should be ended, framing his argument in the same terms that launched the Bush doctrine."
Mr. Stirewalt points out the President Obama won his party's nomination on an anti-war platform. He regards last night's pledge by President Obama to increase troops while promising their withdrawal as cynical. There are some real doubts that the war can be successfully wrapped up in eighteen months.
Michael Rubin stated that he felt the President ignored the advice of General McChrystal by sending only 30,000 troops. He points out that General McChrystal is experienced in counterinsurgency and asked for the number of troops he needed to get the job done quickly and efficiently. To send him less is to undermine the mission. Mr. Rubin points out why the commitment should be open-ended depending on conditions on the ground. The message the President is sending to the Afghanis is 'we have your back for the next eighteen months, after that you are on your own.' All the Taliban now has to do is go into the villages and say, 'the Americans are leaving in eighteen months, and we will still be here. Watch what you do.' It's the equivalent of giving the mob the names and locations of all the people currently in the federal witness protection program. Anyone who helps us for the next eighteen months will be putting his life on the line.
The content of the speech was not totally unexpected. This was a speech that was designed to please everyone and wound up making very few people happy.
Leave a comment