Words

Well, I'm certainly not going to shy away from commenting on President Obama's speech at West Point that was just completed regarding the war in Afghanistan, and for once I'm doing it in a timely manner, i.e. now.

First, the caveats. People aren't comparing this war to the war in Vietnam for any of the reasons Mr. Obama mentioned. The comparison there is primarily based on the (probably correct) belief that the war in Afghanistan, like the one in Vietnam, is not a winnable one, as well as it being one that seems likely to drag on far longer than it should. Mr. Obama's remarks there ought to be dismissed outright, as they are not valid.

It was a poor approach to attempt to placate both sides of this debate. Trying to appease both hawks and doves only results in nobody coming away from it happy. That's not to say that taking the middle ground is a bad idea, but taking a defensive stance as he did only serves to enhance the perception that both sides are attacking your position.

There were positives, of course. It continues to be refreshing to have a President who can speak intelligently and articulately, for one. However, the old axiom that public speaking is ten percent what you say and ninety percent how you say it does not hold true in all cases, and it does not here. There absolutely had to be considerable substance in Mr. Obama's words. His decision to cast himself as a reluctant warrior was a smart one, as it provides considerable evidence that he is doing what he truly feels needs to be done to resolve the situation favorably for everyone involved. I applaud his willingness to embrace a difficult position...but for his own good, he'd better be right about it. Mr. Obama repeatedly stated that he did not make the decision lightly to deploy a further thirty thousand troops to Afghanistan, and I'm sure he didn't. That's a damn lot of troops to send over there, though I understand the rationale. Mr. Obama wants to trade off more troops now in order to get all of them out sooner. On paper, that's okay, it makes a certain amount of sense, given the current situation in Afghanistan. Both Mr. Obama and the American people, however, need to realize that this war is not going to be won with thirty thousand more troops and eighteen more months. Whether we leave now or whether we leave in July 2011, Afghanistan is likely going to devolve back into some level of chaos once it happens. That's not cynicism, that's just reality. No nation has ever been stabilized by an invading force. Relative stability always comes from within, and it will take some time for Afghanistan to stabilize itself, and that stability might not take a form that we like. It might be militaristic, it might be repressive, it might fall under Sharia law. We're just going to have to deal with it, though. It's not our place to impose our will on other people. I hope we can all realize that.

In summation, it certainly was not the political suicide it could have been. Nobody is going to be thrilled with the approach Mr. Obama took right now. For my part, I'm largely reserving judgment on the matter. I'm not in favor of the United States having troops anywhere else in the world, and I'm not crazy about committing even more troops to what is essentially a losing battle. However, it at least comes with a timeline for getting them all out of there. If you're going to get them all out, I don't exactly see the upside to sending a lot more over there first, but I guess that's why he's the President and I am merely a humble blogger.