AFGHANISTAN: THE PRESIDENT'S REPLY

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First of all, I want it to be known I support the President's decision to send 30,000 more troops into Afghanistan. I also favor his reasons for doing so, denying al-Qaida a safe haven, reverse the Taliban's momentum, strengthen the capacity of the Afghan security forces and government and securing key population centers. What I don't support is the issuing of a time line on withdrawing the troops and trying to deflect blame to the Bush Administration as the reason for escalating the conflict. This is your war now Mr.President, your generals and your plans. This new strategy comes on the heals of your earlier one this past spring. We waited three months for a decision, not excuses.

During his televised address at West Point, the President had a chance to use his gifted talent for speech to inspire a nation to lend full support to his new strategy in Afghanistan and the deployment of 30,000 new troops into the fight on the War On Terror. No one envisioned or even expected to see the picture of Winston Churchill smoking a cigar and flashing the victory sign with two fingers up at the podium but I was disappointed to see our President addressing the cadets and the nation as if he were giving a quarterly report in some boardroom of corporate America. The message once again was full of Obama speak and double talk. It's hard to be inspiring when one moment your pushing the plan for success, (victory is not in the man's vocabulary), and then outlining the plan for retreat in the next. Instead of going on the offensive and elaborating on the finer points of the new war strategy, the President chose to blame his predecessor for allowing the situation to get out of hand in the first place. Mixed messages and excuses are never a good way to sell a plan of action in war. Many of the cadets you are addressing will have to carry out your plan of action and it would be good to have a strong unified message for them to hear. Playing both sides of the political fence, trying to make both sides happy and announcing that you have 18 months to get the job done doesn't inspire anyone. It's confusing and all you have to do is look at the questions being thrown around now in Congress by both sides on exactly what it all means for our troops, our allies, Afghanistan, and the security of the American public.

It took three months of meetings and debate with the war council to come to this point and now the President is giving our military only eighteen months to get it done. By the time all troops are fully deployed it could be less than a year before it's time to pull the plug. That's a great message to send to your enemy, and another example of cut and run diplomacy that has always failed us in the past.

Our men and women in the military are the finest fighting force in the world and they deserve better from their Commander In Chief. The President wants to bring Afghanistan to a “successful conclusion.” I believe he should be looking toward a victorious solution.


Edisto Joe

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