“Make no mistake: we are confronting an urgent crisis in Afghanistan, and we have to act. It’s time to heed the call from General McKiernan and others for more troops. That’s why I’d send at least two or three additional combat brigades to Afghanistan. We also need more training for Afghan Security forces, more non-military assistance to help Afghans develop alternatives to poppy farming, more safeguards to prevent corruption, and a new effort to crack down on cross-border terrorism. Only a comprehensive strategy that prioritizes Afghanistan and the fight against al Qaeda will succeed, and that’s the change I’ll bring to the White House.” - Barack Obama, October 22, 2008.
Less than one year ago, Barack Obama cautioned that “we have to act,” called for “more troops,” and said a “comprehensive strategy that prioritizes Afghanistan and the fight against al Qaeda” would be the “change [he'd] bring to the White House.”
Stanley McChrystal, the new commander of the war in Afghanistan says he has had exactly one conversation with Barack Obama, via teleconference, since taking command 70 days ago.
“I’ve talked to the president, since I’ve been here, once on a VTC [video teleconference],” General Stanley McChrystal told CBS reporter David Martin in a television interview that aired Sunday.
“You’ve talked to him once in 70 days?” Mr. Martin followed up.
“That is correct,” the general replied.
This revelation comes amid the explosive publication of an classified report written by the general that said the war in Afghanistan “will likely result in failure” of more troops are not added next year. Yet, the debate over health care reform continues to dominate Washington’s political discussions.
Barack Obama’s only interest in Afghanistan was as a rhetorical battering ram against President Bush and then-candidate John McCain. He never had any interest in victory over al Qaeda or the Taliban.
President Obama has put securing Afghanistan near the top of his foreign policy agenda, but “victory” in the war-torn country isn’t necessarily the United States’ goal, he said Thursday [July 23, 2009] in a TV interview.
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