President Obama’s Afghan policy speech has been described in different ways, but perhaps the most accurate way to describe it is to describe the man delivering it – absent principal and heavy on equivocation.
We describe it this way because no person of principal could have delivered such a speech, it simply was intended for too many specific audiences; it spoke directly to the anti-war left in promising prompt exit, the hawks got their surge, the libertarians were assured that cost would outweigh perseverance, isolationists were guaranteed that America would not go it alone and would be the first out the door – and the list goes on, should one be so inclined to enumerate it.
We wish the President quick and decisive success because his policy is centered around a quick deployment and redeployment – in other words, the President has by his very words has put forth the military must find success quickly and decisively, for we simply do not believe he has the conscious will or political fortitude to withstand setbacks such as Iraq suffered. If those setbacks occur, Mr. Obama has clearly demonstrated by his delayed decision to commit more troops that he will look for an exit, no matter if it be in victory or defeat.
As he accepted the Noble Peace Prize, he exclaimed, “Compared to some of the giants of history who have received this prize ... my accomplishments are slight"; a bit of humble pie or an attempt to position himself for an uncertain future? Mr. Obama won the Nobel Prize without merit and that is clear. But what remains unclear is his disposition on the wars he now fully owns; speaking to the nation he again kicked dirt on his predecessor, stating that the last administration squandered resources to fight an elective war in another country, thereby ignoring what he has called the “necessary” war in
None of these statements are consequential in-and-among-themselves but they do speak to a demeanor the President is attaching himself to – a man who believes leadership comes from uttering crafted rhetoric rather than one who is willing to lead out of conviction.
It has been said the pen is mightier than the sword, for the sake of our military and our national security, let’s pray that will be the case.
-- Killswitch Politick
