Obama Threads the Needle

I've had a night upon which my subconscious mind could feed on the President's speech, and I've come to conclude that he's done about as well as he possibly could, given the incredible and diverse interests at play in the war in Afghanistan.

1. He campaigned that Afghanistan was the central front in the war on terror. His plan announced last night is entirely consistent with that view. The anti-war crowd who will invariably rise up to oppose this will claim to have been abandoned by the President, but there's simply nothing to that. He was against the war in Iraq (and the successful surge). He's never been against the war in Afghanistan.

2. By putting a timer (18 mos) on the commitment, he's made a strategic (military) error. That said, his ability to gain the votes in his own party necessary to secure the funding for this commitment dictated the move--which is after all, a strategic (political) decision. His calculation is that the center right will support the increased effort and bitch about the conditions--but not enough to walk away from him. Additionally, he sees the center left complaining about the increased effort but applauding the conditions. The far left and the far right--neither of whom will agree with this plan (too much or too little), won't amount to much of anything.

3. By taking the time to think McChrystal's plan through--and then amending it--Obama demonstrated to the uniforms that he will not be a rubber stamp and that he will do what I believe the Founders intended the President to do--exercise leadership. McChrystal came forward with his best military advice. Ultimately, even if Obama agreed with it, he cannot fund it without Congress (the genius of our Founders, again). Therefore, Obama has to weave the strategic military and strategic political pictures together--hence--fewer troops, with a time stop.

All in all, I remain convinced that the President deserves support on this.