Make Up Your Mind Already

It has been several weeks since General Stanley McChrystal requested 40,000 additional troops in order to aid the ongoing effort in Afghanistan. And yet, President Obama still has not made a definitive decision whether or not to follow his solely appointed (replacement for Petraeus) General's recommendation and commit those troops to the country. With such an important decision to be made, one has to to wonder why the President is unable to sit down and make a judgment call when it seems like he has managed to find the the time to push healthcare reform, go golfing, pose for family pictures, and campaign for “sweet-heart deal” Senator Chris Dodd's re-election. And by sweet-heart-deal I'm referring to the special treatment discounts Dodd received from the mortgage lender Countrywide Financial to refinance his homes in Washington and Connecticut. The irony in this bit of controversy being that Dodd was a member of the Banking Committee responsible for creating laws regulating Countrywide. President Obama sure does have his priorities in order, working to ensure a crooked politician gets re-elected vs. making the tough decisions.

I've come to the assumption that this indecision from President Obama is derived from a mixture of a few factors: Political expediency and inexperience. As the Commander in Chief the President must do what's best for our troops/people and not merely what he thinks will sustain his image or appease party influences. Dedicating more troops could mean lower approval ratings which could hinder some of his influence and personal perception. To address the inexperience claim, President Obama's only prior job experience has been as a community organizer, law professor, and Senator, the last being a legislator whose job is to vote and deliberate, while not having to govern or run anything. Regardless of what he voted on a piece of legislation, it only becomes law when the President signs or veto's it at the top. With that said, having a prior voting record of 130 present votes doesn't elevate his perceived decision making skills either.

My major concern is that Obama's presidency could end up looking a lot like Carters, a single-term failed presidency. Jimmy Carter was what some might call a method man and great thinker, initially well-liked a the beginning of his term like President Obama. However, he was not a decision maker, as demonstrated by his incompetent handling of Iran (the Islamic revolution) and the Soviet Union's invasion into Afghanistan. As an example, we can look to the Iranian hostage debacle, which resulted in 2 and a half years of futile negotiations and then finally a failed helicopter rescue attempt. And by failed rescue, I'm referring to the copters crashing over the desert due to lack of maintenance, specifically fuel capacity. Some may attribute that to the military cut-backs Carter enacted. It was not until the day of Reagan's inauguration that the hostages were released after a decisive threat was made against the militants.

Former Senator Obama voted against the troop surge, then after it's success, admitted it was the right thing to do. So, is that to say a troop surge in Afghanistan will have the same effect it has had in Iraq? More troops are necessary to weed out the Taliban and Al Queda- but more importantly, a solid infrastructure of government needs to be established there. As of now, the consensus is that the government there is illegitimate and corrupt, this point especially pertinent during the ongoing elections occurring at this time in Afghanistan. So, is it possible to achieve a liberated Afghanistan- especially with it's dangerous mountain terrain, extreme weather, and crafty insurgents? The answer is, only our generals who have been in the area have the slightest clue. Hence, the most logical course of action is probably to listen to General McChrystal. The more time the Administration wastes debating, more troops are dying without further support. Either send in more for aid, or take them all out and declare it a failure likened to the Soviet Union's attempt at conquering Afghanistan or even Alexander the Great's attempt for that matter. Why did he appoint this new general if he is unable to take his advice? President Obama needs to stop being the Pretender and Chief and man up to the job.

Jared Justice