Obama's Nobel and His Obligation to Afghanistan

Wall Streeet Journal ^ | 10/09/09 | Bob Kerrey

[BCrago66]

In a wonderfully stunning decision, the Nobel Committee in Oslo awarded our president its Peace Prize. They said the award was as much for the hope that he will contribute to a more peaceful world as it was for any specific accomplishment during his first nine months in office.

...

In December 2006, President George W. Bush was faced with a similarly difficult foreign policy decision. The Republicans had suffered tremendous losses in the November election, in part because of the conduct of the war in Iraq. At the time, the unpopular Republican president was being pressured by ascendant congressional Democrats and some members of his own party into withdrawing from Iraq. Failure in Iraq loomed, as public opinion for the effort to help the democratically elected government survive had faded thanks to a series of tactical blunders and inaccurate assessments of what would be needed to accomplish the mission.

Then, against all reasonable predictions, President Bush chose to increase rather than decrease our military commitment. The "surge," as it became known, worked. Victory was snatched from the jaws of defeat.

From what I have seen, President Obama has the same ability [same ability as President Bush] to step outside the swirl of public opinion and make the right decision.

[BCrago66]

This op-ed is a few days old, but I didn't see it posted previously when searching "obligation" from the title.

The main point of the op-ed was to try to convince Obama not to bug out of Afghanistan. But I posted it because it's rare to see praise of George W. Bush these days, even from the Right, let alone from a Democrat. And I thought, reading this: Where were you, Bob Kerrey, when President Bush was being pummeled by the elite, Left & Right, for his decision to approve the surge?

[Nuc1]

The Republicans had suffered tremendous losses in the November election, in part because of the conduct of the war in Iraq.

I disagree. The pubbies stabbed their base in the back on more than one occasion and the base stabbed them back. PFL BO will not make the "right" decision. Though he will probably get many sons and daughters killed and accomplish nothing.