Fox News reported yesterday on testimony from Marine Lt. Gen. John Allen, nominated to replace Gen. Petraeus as head of coalition forces in Afghanistan.
This is his response to questions being asked by Sen. Lindsey Graham:
GRAHAM: The option that the country has chosen through President Obama is to withdraw 10,000 this year, all surge forces gone by September. Is it fair to say, General Allen, that was not one of the options presented to the president by General Petraeus?
ALLEN: It is a more aggressive option than that which was presented.
GRAHAM: My question is, was that a option?
ALLEN: It was not.
If you follow the link above, you can read more of the testimony. What we have here is a Commander-in-Chief with no military experience ignoring the advice of one of his most experienced generals. This is a political calculation--not a winning strategy. This is highly unfortunate and will harm America's war effort and America's image around the world.
Apparently Obama thinks that being "commander-in-chief" is just like being a Chicago ward boss. Will Lt. Gen. Allen play along... or is he just having a deer-in-the-headlights moment?