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20 March 2009
By now, President Barack Obama must be acutely aware of the spiraling AfPak situation. Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman have penned a very smart piece about the tough road ahead. There is a subtly to this piece insofar is it might indicate the Obama Administration is quietly bucking what is likely a very expensive and exhausting plan from the Pentagon. Active duty Generals cannot make such public declarations as seen coming from Senators McCain and Lieberman, but military leadership can get its message out in other ways.
At least part of the problem is obvious: we have half-stepped on AfPak for more than half-a-decade. At the current rate, we likely will see endless war until we wash our hands and come home. Anything short of severe effort is likely destined to fail. Therefore, this writer will be watching closely, and if President Obama is ready to take the hard decisions that will be required to win, then I am one man who will support him from the ground in Afghanistan. But if it looks like he is blinking at this moment of truth, or not heeding the advice of his Generals, this writer would sadly recommend that we cut losses and abandon Afghanistan. This is it. The first moment of truth and war for President Obama. The stakes are high.The 'Minimalist' Path Is Wrong for Afghanistan
By John McCain and Joseph Lieberman
Thursday, March 19, 2009; Page A15
Later this month, the Obama administration will unveil a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan. This comes as most important indicators in Afghanistan are pointing in the wrong direction. President Obama's decision last month to deploy an additional 17,000 U.S. troops was an important step in the right direction, but a comprehensive overhaul of our war plan is needed, and quickly.
The War in Afghanistan has truly begun. This will be a long, difficult fight that is set to eclipse anything we’ve seen in Iraq. As 2010 unfolds, my 6th year of war coverage will unfold with it. There is relatively little interest in Afghanistan by comparison to previous interest in Iraq, and so reader interest is low. Afghanistan is serious, very deadly business. Like Iraq, however, it gets pushed around as a political brawling pit while the people fighting the war are mostly forgotten. The arguments at home seem more likely to revolve around a few words from the President than the ground realities of combat here. I can bring the ground realities, but can sustain the coverage only by the graciousness of readers. Please keep that in mind. Please click…
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