Tonight, the President will go on television to
put the final touches on Bob Woodward's next book inform the American public about the direction of his Afghanistan policy. Rumor is that he will "stay true to his word" and begin the drawdown this summer, in a manner that suggests 10,000 troops will return home by year's end (out of over 30,000 "surged" by the President last year).
I am glad that the President will stay true to his word, but I would prefer that he not hunt and peck around the margins. It is time to wrap things up on the Afghanistan COIN front, to recognize that Karzai is not a stable partner, and that our interests there are primarily in killing terrorists and not in creating a stable democracy.
Faster, please.
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I wonder how much American cash Karzai has stashed in European banks? When he finally bolts he'll probably buy Kensington Palace.
There will still be 70,000 more troops in Afghanistan than when Obama took office.
Behold:
The President addressing the 10th Mountain Division today at Fort Drum:
"First time I saw 10th Mountain Division, you guys were in southern Iraq. When I went back to visit Afghanistan, you guys were the first ones there. I had the great honor of seeing some of you because a comrade of yours, Jared Monti, was the first person who I was able to award the Medal of Honor to who actually came back and wasn’t receiving it posthumously."
As we all know, SSG Sal Giunta, of the 173rd Airborne, was the first living recipient (2011) of the MOH who fought in Iraq/Afganistan. SFC Jared Monti, 10th Mountain Division, was KIA in Afghanistan in 2006. He was posthumously awarded the MOH by Obama in 2009.
How does the Commander-in-Chief mix these heroes up? He put that medal around Giunta's neck and he stood with Monti's parents as they grieved. These fallen heroes leave such a great legacy, and we should know all their names. The ironic part of the speech, and this comes after the announcement of the politically pressured drawdown of troops in Afghanistan, was Obama's closing remark, "Know that your Commander-in-Chief has your back."
It shouldn't take a teleprompter for the C-in-C to get it right.
I want a Jib-Jab animated cartoon on this.
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