Indecision reigns supreme

“This is not a war of choice. This is a war of necessity,” President Obama said on Aug. 17.

They say actions speak louder than words, and based on the lack of action that the Obama administration has taken during the last few months, all I hear is silence.

It is now approaching ten months since President Obama has taken office, and America still lacks any vision, goal or strategy for how to proceed in Afghanistan.
On Oct. 18, Rahm Emanuel said Obama is now asking questions about Afghanistan “that have never been asked on the civilian side, the political side, the military side and the strategic side.” I would love to hear just one question that Obama has asked that takes 10 months to answer.

The quote also seemed aimed to deflect criticism by blaming the Bush administration for the current troubles. Well Obama, I get it, Bush sucked. Now what are you going to do about it?

Recently I watched a Frontline episode titled “Obama’s War,” and the realities of the situation on the ground became extremely apparent to me. While the soldiers did capture the town they were targeting, that was only the beginning of the fight as the Taliban used daily hit and run tactics to kill Americans without being seen. 

Even though the soldiers knew the general area where they were basing their attacks, they lacked the manpower to pursue the Taliban. So, they stayed and remained sitting ducks.

In one scene, the cameras took footage of 20-year-old Lance Corporal Charles Sharp lying dead on the ground, shot in the neck, while his friends begged him to come back. While watching this, I realized the only point that really matters right now is that people are dying.

Since Obama has taken office, more than 265 U.S. soldiers have been killed. Even more troubling, about 100 of those have died since Gen. McChrystal sent his assessment back in August.

Despite this, Obama continues to dither with indecision.

Recently, he has blamed this delay on continuing questions surrounding the legitimacy of the Afghan government, and Rahm Emanuel questioned “whether, in fact, there’s an Afghan partner.” It has even been reported by the Wall Street Journal that Obama refused to take a call from Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

However, this stall tactic is ridiculous since it would take months for any chosen strategy to be put in place; well after any runoff election has taken place. And with Abdullah pulling out of the runoff this past weekend, this matter is now over.

It seems instead that Obama is waiting and hoping for a miracle strategy to form. It has been reported that the Pentagon was asked to draft arguments making the best case for Vice-President Biden’s counter-terror approach, but the strategists had difficulties writing out a credible case, so members of Biden’s staff stepped in to write the document themselves. I’m sure Biden’s secretary is qualified to formulate U.S. strategy.

Regardless of whether Obama chooses to surge or pull out, the decision needs to be made. He has all the facts in front of him, and while they aren’t pretty and the decision isn’t easy, the troops deserve better than a sitting-duck strategy.
Making tough decisions is what Obama was elected for. Seriously, it’s been 10 months.