"I was part of the 2004 Kerry campaign, which elevated the idea of
Afghanistan as 'the right war' to conventional Democratic wisdom,"
wrote Democratic consultant Bob Shrum shortly after President Obama was
elected. "This was accurate as criticism of the Bush administration,
but it was also reflexive and perhaps by now even misleading as policy."Which is a clever way to say that championing victory in Afghanistan
was a contrived and disingenuous policy in which Democrats never
seriously believed, a convenient two-by-four with which to bash George
Bush over Iraq -- while still appearing warlike enough to fend off the
soft-on-defense stereotype.Brilliantly crafted and perfectly cynical, the "Iraq War bad, Afghan
War good" posture worked. Democrats first won Congress, then the White
House. But now, unfortunately, they must govern. No more games. No more
pretense.
The reason that Democrats felt certain that "Bush lied" relative to Iraq is because that is what they had been doing all along, and expect everyone to do. When Billy C cynically called for a "regiem change" policy in Iraq, he never meant to really do anything, just that he could launch some cruise missles and planes whenever he needed to "do something presidential". Being a Democrat means that is "just fine", and it is just fine with the MSM as well (as long as you are a Democrat).
So now we know that yet again, BO just said a bunch of stuff to be elected, but he has no stomach for actually winning the war in Afghanistan either. His real motto is "cut and run", just like the typical Democrat. He only said some other stuff to look good during the campaign.
Yet his commander in chief, young Hamlet, frets, demurs, agonizes.
His domestic advisers, led by Rahm Emanuel, tell him if he goes for
victory, he'll become LBJ, the domestic visionary destroyed by a
foreign war. His vice president holds out the chimera of painless
counterterrorism success.Against Emanuel and Biden stand David Petraeus, the world's foremost
expert on counterinsurgency (he saved Iraq with it), and Stanley
McChrystal, the world's foremost expert on counterterrorism. Whose
recommendation on how to fight would you rely on?Less than two months ago -- Aug. 17 in front of an audience of
veterans -- the president declared Afghanistan to be "a war of
necessity." Does anything he says remain operative beyond the fading of
the audience applause?
I think we know the answer to that.
